Breakdown of Du borde sova, men du jobbar på med det mödosamma pusslet.
du
you (singular)
jobba
to work
sova
to sleep
men
but
det
the (with ett-words)
med
with
pusslet
the puzzle
böra
should, ought to
på
on (continuative aspectual particle)
mödosam
arduous / grueling
Questions & Answers about Du borde sova, men du jobbar på med det mödosamma pusslet.
How does the particle på change the meaning of jobbar in this sentence?
The particle på after a verb adds a continuative aspect. It shows that an action is ongoing, persistent, or happening without interruption. While du jobbar simply means "you work," du jobbar på means "you keep on working" or "you work away."
The English translation says "working on the puzzle." Why does the Swedish use the preposition med instead of på?
In English, you work on a physical task or project, but in Swedish, you work with it (jobbar med). Additionally, since we are already using på as a continuative particle (jobbar på), trying to use it again as a preposition to mean "on" would sound incredibly awkward.
borde looks like a past tense verb, so why does the translation say "ought to sleep" instead of "ought to have slept"?
borde is historically the past tense form of the verb böra, but in modern Swedish, it functions as a present conditional meaning "should" or "ought to." If you actually wanted to express the past tense ("ought to have slept"), you would use borde ha sovit.
What is the exact nuance of mödosamma compared to a simpler word like svåra (difficult)?
mödosam is formed from the noun en möda (an effort, a trouble). While svår just means a task is difficult or hard to figure out, mödosam means "arduous," "laborious," or "painstaking." It emphasizes that the puzzle requires a lot of grueling, time-consuming effort—which pairs perfectly with the persistent vibe of jobbar på.
Why does mödosamma end in -a here?
This is the classic Swedish "double definite" rule in action. Because we have a definite article (det) and a definite noun (pusslet), any adjective sandwiched between them must take the definite form, which almost always ends in -a.
Learn Du borde sova, men du jobbar på med det mödosamma pusslet and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free