Breakdown of Mannen blev helt panikslagen när han hörde larmet.
han
he
mannen
the man
höra
to hear
när
when
bli
to become
larmet
the alarm
helt
completely
panikslagen
panic-stricken
Questions & Answers about Mannen blev helt panikslagen när han hörde larmet.
How does the compound adjective panikslagen change if the subject is plural?
Panikslagen is made up of panik (panic) and slagen (struck), which is the past participle of slå (to hit/strike). Because it acts like a past participle, it declines to panikslaget for ett-words and panikslagna for plural subjects.
Why do we use helt with a t-ending here when mannen is an en-word?
In this sentence, helt isn't an adjective describing the man; it is an adverb meaning completely or entirely, and it modifies the adjective panikslagen. In Swedish, you add a -t to an adjective to turn it into an adverb.
Does using blev instead of var change the meaning significantly?
Yes. Blev (became/got) highlights a sudden change in state caused by the alarm. If you used var (was), it would mean he was already in a state of panic when he heard the alarm, rather than the alarm causing the panic.
If we moved the när-clause to the beginning, how would the word order change?
If you start with the subordinate clause, the main clause must invert so the verb comes first to satisfy the V2 rule. It would become: När han hörde larmet blev mannen helt panikslagen.
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