Breakdown of Han var så tävlingsinriktad att han bröt pennan när han förlorade.
vara
to be
han
he
pennan
the pen
när
when
så
so
att
that
förlora
to lose
bryta
to break
tävlingsinriktad
competitive
Questions & Answers about Han var så tävlingsinriktad att han bröt pennan när han förlorade.
What is the vowel gradation pattern for the verb bröt?
Bröt is the past tense of bryta (to break). It belongs to a specific sub-class of Group 4 strong verbs that use the vowel gradation (Ablaut) pattern y – ö – u. The principal parts are bryta (infinitive), bröt (past tense), and brutit (supine). Other common verbs following this exact same pattern include flyga (flög, flugit) and frysa (frös, frusit).
Why do we use bröt here instead of gick sönder for "broke"?
Swedish strictly separates actively breaking an object (transitive) from an object breaking on its own (intransitive). Since the subject actively snapped the pen, we use the transitive verb bryta (bröt). If the pen had just fallen apart or stopped working on its own, you would use the intransitive phrase gå sönder and say pennan gick sönder.
How is the word tävlingsinriktad constructed?
It is a compound adjective combining the noun tävling (competition) and the adjective inriktad (focused or oriented). They are glued together with a linking -s-, which is a mandatory rule when the first word in a Swedish compound ends in -ing. A literal translation would be "competition-oriented."
Why does förlorade end in -ade while bröt does not?
Förlora (to lose) is a regular Group 1 weak verb, which forms its past tense by adding the suffix -ade to the stem. Bryta, on the other hand, is a Group 4 strong verb. Strong verbs do not use standard suffixes for the past tense; instead, they change their core vowel to indicate tense, which is why bryta becomes bröt.
Learn Han var så tävlingsinriktad att han bröt pennan när han förlorade 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