Breakdown of Hårt arbete lönar sig till slut.
hård
hard
till slut
finally, in the end
arbeta
to work (more formal than jobba)
löna sig
to pay off, to be worth it
Questions & Answers about Hårt arbete lönar sig till slut.
Why does the verb lönar need the reflexive pronoun sig here?
The verb att löna sig is a reflexive verb meaning "to pay off" or "to be worth it." It is related to the noun en lön (a wage or salary). Without sig, löna means to financially reward or pay someone. Adding sig literally means the work rewards itself, which gives us the English equivalent "pays off."
Why is the adjective hårt written with a -t at the end instead of just hård?
Arbete is an ett word (ett arbete). Even though "hard work" is being used as a general, abstract concept here rather than a countable noun, the adjective must still agree with the noun's grammatical gender. Therefore, the common form hård takes the neuter -t ending to become hårt.
Why do we use till slut instead of i slutet for "in the end"?
Till slut is a set phrase meaning "eventually," "finally," or "in the end" in a figurative sense. You would use i slutet when talking about the actual, physical end of something specific, which is usually followed by av (of), such as i slutet av boken (at the end of the book).
Would it be correct to say Ett hårt arbete lönar sig till slut?
Grammatically yes, but it changes the meaning slightly. Adding the article ett changes it from the general concept of "hard work" to a specific task, meaning "A hard job pays off in the end." Dropping the article and just saying hårt arbete captures the abstract, general idea of working hard.
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