Breakdown of Bedragaren låtsas att han kan övertyga vem som helst.
han
he
kunna
to be able to, can
att
that
låtsas
to pretend
vem som helst
anyone
bedragaren
the con artist
övertyga
to convince
Questions & Answers about Bedragaren låtsas att han kan övertyga vem som helst.
Could we use a bare infinitive here instead of the att-clause?
Yes! Because the subject of the main clause (Bedragaren) is the same as the subject of the subclause (han), you could shorten this to use a bare infinitive: Bedragaren låtsas kunna övertyga vem som helst. Using the att-clause as seen in this sentence is equally correct and common.
Since låtsas ends in an s, is this a passive verb?
No, låtsas is a deponent verb. This means it always ends in an s and looks passive, but it has an active meaning (to pretend). Because it is an s-verb, its present tense is just låtsas, and its past tense would be låtsades.
How exactly does vem som helst translate to anyone?
In Swedish, adding som helst after a question word turns it into an indefinite pronoun. So, vem (who) becomes vem som helst (anyone or anybody). You can use this pattern with other words too, like vad som helst (anything) or när som helst (anytime).
Why is the definite form of the subject bedragaren and not bedragareen?
The base noun is bedragare (con artist or deceiver). For nouns ending in -are, the singular definite suffix is just -n rather than -en to avoid an awkward double vowel. Therefore, it seamlessly becomes bedragaren.
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