Breakdown of Inte ens bordsgrannen åt sig sjuk på buffén.
inte
not
äta
to eat
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
sig
oneself / himself / herself / themselves
sjuk
sick
ens
even
buffén
the buffet
bordsgrannen
the table neighbor
Questions & Answers about Inte ens bordsgrannen åt sig sjuk på buffén.
How does the phrase åt sig sjuk work here?
This is a resultative reflexive construction. It uses a verb (åt), a reflexive pronoun (sig), and an adjective (sjuk). It expresses that the action of the verb caused the subject to reach the state described by the adjective. You can use this pattern with many verbs in Swedish, like skratta sig trött (laugh oneself tired) or dricka sig full (drink oneself drunk).
Why is the adjective sjuk in its base form rather than sjuka or sjukt?
The adjective sjuk describes the subject, bordsgrannen, which is an en-word in the singular. Even though the adjective comes immediately after the reflexive pronoun sig, it must grammatically agree with the original subject that the pronoun refers back to.
Why does the verb åt come after the subject bordsgrannen? Doesn't the V2 rule push the verb to the front if we start with inte ens?
The phrase inte ens (not even) modifies the subject bordsgrannen directly. Together, the entire chunk Inte ens bordsgrannen acts as the complete subject and fills the first position in the sentence. Therefore, the verb åt correctly takes the second position, perfectly following the V2 rule.
What exactly is a bordsgranne?
It is a very common Swedish compound noun made from bord (table) plus an s to link the words, and granne (neighbor). It refers to the person sitting next to you at a table, usually at a dinner party or event. Here it is in the definite form: bordsgrannen (the table neighbor).
Why do we use the preposition på with buffén?
In Swedish, you typically use på for events, activities, or open surfaces, rather than i which implies being inside an enclosure. A buffet is treated as a dining event or an open serving station, so you eat på buffén (at the buffet). Notice also that loanwords ending in a stressed vowel like buffé simply add an n for the definite form: buffén.
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