Breakdown of Den jättestora rankan tränger in i huset, varför vi måste ta bort den.
vi
we
den
it (common)
stor
big
huset
the house
i
in
måste
to have to, must
in
in, into (motion)
ta bort
to remove, to take away
varför
which is why
rankan
the vine
tränga
to force (one's way, push)
Questions & Answers about Den jättestora rankan tränger in i huset, varför vi måste ta bort den.
The lesson is about spatial adverbs. Why do we use in and bort here instead of inne and borta?
Both in and bort are directional spatial adverbs that show movement. Because the vine is actively forcing its way into the house (tränger in) and we need to move it away (ta bort), we must use the directional forms. If they described a static, non-moving location, we would use inne (inside) and borta (away/gone).
How is varför being used in this sentence? I thought it just meant 'why?'.
At the B2 level, you will often see varför used as a relative adverb meaning 'which is why' or 'and therefore'. It connects a result back to the previous clause. Because it introduces a subordinate clause here, it takes straight word order (vi måste) rather than the inverted word order used in actual questions.
What does the verb tränger mean on its own?
The base verb att tränga means to push, squeeze, or force one's way. When you pair it with the spatial adverb in to make the phrasal verb tränga in, it specifically means to intrude, penetrate, or force a way inside something.
Just a quick refresher: why does jättestora end with an '-a'?
It takes the definite ending '-a' because it is part of a definite noun phrase. This is the Swedish 'double definite' rule at work: we need the standalone definite article (Den), the definite adjective (jättestora), and the noun with its definite suffix (rankan).
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