Breakdown of Jag undrade om hemkörningen kostar mindre.
jag
I
kosta
to cost
undra
to wonder
om
if, whether
mindre
less / smaller
hemkörningen
the home delivery
Questions & Answers about Jag undrade om hemkörningen kostar mindre.
Why is undrade in the past tense if the speaker is asking about the price right now?
This focuses on pragmatic politeness. Just like saying I was wondering in English, Swedish uses the simple past tense (undrade) for present intentions to soften the phrase and make it sound much less demanding than the present tense Jag undrar.
Why does the tense switch from the past (undrade) to the present (kostar) in the same sentence?
The past tense in the main clause is an artificial tense shift used only for politeness. The subordinate clause (om hemkörningen kostar mindre) stays in the present tense because the delivery cost is a current, ongoing fact. If you used kostade, it would imply you were asking about a past, completed delivery.
How is the noun hemkörningen formed?
It is a compound noun made of hem (home) and körning (driving or delivery), plus the definite en-word suffix -en (the). While it literally translates to the home driving, it is the standard Swedish term for home delivery, particularly for things like pizza or groceries.
Why do we use mindre (less) here instead of a word like lägre (lower)?
In Swedish, the verb kostar (costs) naturally pairs with the adverbs mer (more) or mindre (less). You would only use the comparative adjective lägre (lower) if you were directly describing the noun for price, as in the phrase om priset är lägre (if the price is lower).
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