Breakdown of Om du inte pluggar får du skylla dig själv.
du
you (singular)
inte
not
få
to be allowed to, may
om
if, whether
plugga
to study
skylla sig själv
to have oneself to blame
Questions & Answers about Om du inte pluggar får du skylla dig själv.
Why does inte come before pluggar in the first part of the sentence?
Because Om du inte pluggar is a subordinate clause (a dependent clause starting with om). In Swedish subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like inte must come before the conjugated verb. Learners often memorize this using the BIFF rule (I Bisats kommer Inte Före Finita verbet).
Why is it får du instead of du får in the second half?
This is the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire 'if' clause (Om du inte pluggar) counts as the first piece of information in the sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position, the verb (får) must come immediately after the comma, pushing the subject (du) after it.
Does får mean 'are allowed to' here?
No, while får often implies permission, here it means 'will have to' or 'must' as an inevitable consequence. The phrase får du skylla dig själv means you will just have to blame yourself, with no permission implied.
Why do we use both dig and själv in the phrase skylla dig själv?
The verb skylla (to blame) requires an object. Since the subject is blaming themselves, we use the reflexive pronoun dig. Adding själv is required for the fixed expression att skylla sig själv (to have oneself to blame), which strongly emphasizes that the fault is entirely your own.
Learn Om du inte pluggar får du skylla dig själv and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free