Breakdown of Vi turas om att plocka upp barnen innan rusningstrafiken börjar.
barnet
the child
vi
we
att
to
börja
to start
innan
before
turas om
to take turns
plocka upp
to pick up
rusningstrafiken
the rush hour traffic
Questions & Answers about Vi turas om att plocka upp barnen innan rusningstrafiken börjar.
How would I ask 'At what time does the rush hour traffic start?' using the phrase hur dags from this lesson?
You would say Hur dags börjar rusningstrafiken? Remember that hur dags functions as the question phrase, which means the V2 rule applies and the verb (börjar) must come immediately after it.
Why does turas end in an 's'? Is this a passive verb?
It is not passive. Turas om is a deponent verb, which means it always ends in an -s but has an active meaning ('to take turns'). When you want to state what you are taking turns doing, you follow it with att and the infinitive verb.
Could I split up the phrasal verb and say plocka barnen upp, similar to English?
No, Swedish particle verbs like plocka upp usually stay together. The particle (upp) must immediately follow the verb (plocka), coming before the object (barnen).
How is the compound word rusningstrafiken constructed?
It combines rusning (a rush or surge) and trafik (traffic). They are joined by an -s-, which is a very common 'glue' letter in Swedish compound words. The -en at the end makes it definite ('the rush hour traffic').
Why do we use innan for 'before' here instead of före?
Innan is typically used as a subjunction to introduce a full clause that has its own subject and verb (here, rusningstrafiken börjar). Före is used as a preposition before a noun phrase (like före klockan fem). While native speakers sometimes blur this line, using innan for clauses is the safest rule.
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