Word
Jag undrar om polisen letade systematiskt vid rulltrappan under natten.
Meaning
I wonder if the police searched systematically by the escalator during the night.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Jag undrar om polisen letade systematiskt vid rulltrappan under natten.
jag
I
polisen
the police officer
natten
the night
undra
to wonder
Questions & Answers about Jag undrar om polisen letade systematiskt vid rulltrappan under natten.
Why are the adverbs placed in the order systematiskt vid rulltrappan under natten?
This perfectly demonstrates the Swedish Sätt-Rum-Tid (Manner-Place-Time) rule. When you have multiple adverbs at the end of a clause, they usually follow this specific sequence. First comes manner (systematiskt - how?), then place (vid rulltrappan - where?), and finally time (under natten - when?).
Since this is a subordinate clause starting with om, does that change where the manner adverb systematiskt goes?
No. Subordinate clauses do change the placement of sentence adverbs like inte or alltid, which must go before the verb. However, systematiskt is an adverb of manner describing how the action was done. Manner adverbs belong in the end-field of the clause, following the Sätt-Rum-Tid rule, regardless of whether it is a main or subordinate clause.
Could I use sökte instead of letade here?
Yes, you could say sökte systematiskt. Both mean searched, but letade is slightly more concrete and common for physically looking for a lost item or person in a specific area. Sökte can feel a bit more formal or abstract, though police operations often use it. Here, letade perfectly captures the physical act of looking around the escalator.
Why is the preposition vid used instead of på for the escalator?