Why..

[Eppi]

Hi all!

So the question is why is it wrong to say "Jag håller med att bra service är viktigt"?

"Jag håller med om att det är viktigt med bra service" is correct but it doesn't make sense to me. Especially ".. är viktigt med bra service"

Is this "book language" or is this (the correct) sentence something you would say to your friends when you're about to go to a restaurant? Thanks!

[SansEspoir]

Uhm... I really wish I could explain this, but sadly I'm not a linguist, just a regular idiot who happen to speak swedish....
So I asked AI for help with the explanation.

The sentence "Jag håller med att bra service är viktigt" is actually a bit tricky, but I'm here to help you untangle it!

In Swedish, "håller med" is a phrase that typically means "to agree with" or "to support". However, when you use it before an infinitive verb (like "att"), it can be a bit confusing.

The correct sentence "Jag håller med om att det är viktigt" is saying "I agree that it's important", where "om" is a subordinating conjunction that introduces the clause. This sentence makes sense because you're expressing your agreement with the statement "det är viktigt" (it's important).

On the other hand, the incorrect sentence "Jag håller med att bra service är viktigt" is trying to use "håller med" in a different way. The phrase "att bra service är viktigt" is already a complete sentence, and using "håller med" before it doesn't make sense. It's like saying "I agree that that's important that good service is important", which doesn't quite work.

In everyday language, you wouldn't typically say this exact sentence to your friends before going to a restaurant. However, you might say something like "Jag håller med om att bra service är super viktigt när man åker ut på restaurang" (I agree that good service is super important when you're going out to eat), which uses the correct phrase and makes more sense in context!

So, it's not exactly "book language", but rather a misunderstanding of how to use the phrase "håller med". Don't worry, it's an easy mistake to make!

I'm not sure I agree with the bot, though, in that "Jag håller med om att det är viktigt med bra service" is something I could say. Maybe not before going to a restaurant with friends, but in an online dating scenario or something, where you're getting to know a stranger and learning about their likes and dislikes.

[Eppi]

Thanks this helped. The meaning of håller med is obviously an important thing to learn. I've used Ai too but I'm hesitant that the answer it gives is always completely correct, but it can point to the right direction at least

[SansEspoir]

"Håller med" is basically just expressing agreement to a statement someone else made. Like they say "Messi is the best football player ever", you can say "ja, jag håller med/det håller jag med om" or "nej, det håller jag inte med dig om/nej, jag håller inte med".

In a super direct translation that makes no sense in english, you can think of it like "hold this opinion with you"....