Word
Hon tittade på fjärilen som höll på att veckla ut sina vingar.
Meaning
She looked at the butterfly that was unfolding its wings.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Hon tittade på fjärilen som höll på att veckla ut sina vingar.
hon
she
titta på
to look at
sin
his/her/its/their own (en-word)
som
who / which / that (relative pronoun)
Questions & Answers about Hon tittade på fjärilen som höll på att veckla ut sina vingar.
Why do we use höll på att veckla ut instead of just vecklade ut?
The phrase hålla på att followed by an infinitive is used to emphasize that an action is currently ongoing, similar to the English past continuous (was unfolding). While vecklade ut (unfolded) is also grammatically correct, höll på att veckla ut paints a vivid picture of the butterfly being right in the middle of the process.
Why is sina used for 'its' here instead of dess?
We use the reflexive possessive sina (meaning 'its own') because the butterfly is the subject of the relative clause. The word som acts as the subject representing fjärilen, and since the butterfly is unfolding its own wings, the reflexive sina is required. If it were unfolding another insect's wings, you would use dess.
Is veckla ut a phrasal verb, and how does that affect pronunciation?
Yes, veckla ut (unfold) is a phrasal verb where ut acts as a verbal particle. In Swedish, the particle in a phrasal verb always takes the heavy stress in spoken language. You must emphasize ut rather than veckla.
How would this sentence change if she looked at the butterfly 'after' it unfolded its wings, using efter att?