Breakdown of Det måste ha varit försäkringsbolaget som skickade denna skadeanmälan.
vara
to be
det
it (neuter)
ha
to have
måste
to have to, must
skicka
to send
som
who / which / that (relative pronoun)
denna
this (common)
skadeanmälan
the claim form
försäkringsbolaget
the insurance company
Questions & Answers about Det måste ha varit försäkringsbolaget som skickade denna skadeanmälan.
Why doesn't the noun change form if I swap denna for den här?
Nouns ending in -an like anmälan (and its compound skadeanmälan) are special: their indefinite and definite singular forms are exactly the same! So whether you use denna skadeanmälan (which requires an indefinite noun) or den här skadeanmälan (which requires a definite noun), the word looks identical.
Why is there an 's' in the middle of försäkringsbolaget?
It is a connecting letter joining försäkring (insurance) and bolaget (the company). Words ending in -ing almost always take an -s- when they form the first part of a compound noun.
Is måste ha varit used exactly the same as 'must have been' in English?
Yes! This is a modal verb (måste) followed by the perfect infinitive (ha varit). Just like in English, it expresses a strong logical deduction about the past.
How would I say 'It must have been neither the insurance company nor the bank' using this lesson's grammar?
You would say Det måste ha varit varken försäkringsbolaget eller banken. Because varken ... eller (neither ... nor) acts as the negative marker itself, you must not add inte to the sentence. Adding inte would create an incorrect double negative.
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