Breakdown of Förhandlarna kom inte överens, vilket ledde till att arbetarna började strejka.
inte
not
börja
to start
vilket
which (ett) / what a (ett-word, exclamatory)
att
that
komma överens
to agree, to get along
leda till
to lead to
arbetaren
the worker
förhandlaren
the negotiator
strejka
to strike
Questions & Answers about Förhandlarna kom inte överens, vilket ledde till att arbetarna började strejka.
Why is it förhandlarna and arbetarna instead of förhandlarena and arbetarena?
Both förhandlare (negotiator) and arbetare (worker) are Group 5 nouns ending in -are. When we make them definite plural, they drop their final -e before adding the -na ending. This dropping of a vowel is called syncopation, and it makes the words flow much better when spoken.
How does the phrase kom inte överens work here?
The phrasal verb komma överens means to agree or to reach an agreement. In a main clause, the negative word inte is placed right after the verb kom and before the particle överens.
Why is vilket used here instead of som?
We use vilket because it refers back to the entire previous clause (the fact that the negotiators did not agree), rather than to a specific noun. If it referred to a specific noun, you would normally use som.
Why do we need the word att after ledde till?
In Swedish, prepositions like till cannot be followed directly by a full clause with a subject and verb like arbetarna började strejka. You must insert the subjunction att to connect them, making it literally mean that it led to that the workers started to strike.
Why is there no att before the verb strejka?
The verb börja is often followed directly by an infinitive without the infinitive marker att. While började att strejka is grammatically correct, dropping the att is much more common and sounds more natural in modern Swedish.
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