Breakdown of Jag vet att tjuven försvann ljudlöst i köpcentret igår.
jag
I
i
in
veta
to know (facts, information)
igår
yesterday
tjuven
the thief
försvinna
to disappear
att
that
ljudlös
silent
köpcentret
the shopping center
Questions & Answers about Jag vet att tjuven försvann ljudlöst i köpcentret igår.
Why are ljudlöst, i köpcentret, and igår in that exact order?
This perfectly demonstrates the Swedish Manner-Place-Time rule (often called the Sätt-Rum-Tid or SRT rule). When you have multiple adverbs at the end of a clause, they stack in this exact sequence: how (ljudlöst), where (i köpcentret), and when (igår).
Since att tjuven försvann... is a subordinate clause, shouldn't the BIFF rule put the adverb before the verb?
The BIFF rule only applies to sentence adverbs that modify the whole clause (like inte, ofta, or kanske). Ljudlöst is an adverb of manner describing exactly how the action was done, so it belongs in the end-field after the verb försvann. If we added inte, it would jump before the verb: att tjuven inte försvann ljudlöst....
Why does ljudlös get a -t added to it here?
To turn the adjective ljudlös (silent) into an adverb of manner (silently), you must add a -t. This is the exact same mechanical rule as making an adjective agree with an ett word, but here it is modifying the verb försvann instead of a noun.
Why is the definite form of köpcenter spelled köpcentret without an extra 'e'?
Ett center is a neuter noun ending in -er. Like many similar words (such as ett fönster / a window), it drops the final e in the root when adding the definite suffix -et to make pronunciation smoother. So it becomes köpcentret, never köpcenteret.
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