"We try to decide."

Translation: Vi försöker bestämma oss.

[MarkBorkBorkBork]

Which is better in this context, bestämma oss or att bestämma? Both are accepted.

[Lundgren8]

It sounds much better to say Vi försöker bestämma oss without the att, in my opinion.

---

There is an interesting difference between bestämma sig and bestämma.

They both mean ’to decide’, but the former is used when the decision is about your own actions and can be translated to ’make up one’s mind’. The latter is used when it’s not about your own actions.

• Jag kan inte bestämma mig vilken jag ska välja. (I can’t decide which one to choose.)
• Vi bestämde oss att måla vardagsrummet vitt. (We decided to paint the living room white.)

But:

• Hon är alltid den som bestämmer. (She is always the one who decides.)
• Hon bestämde att mötet skulle flyttas till den 18:e. (She decided that the meeting be moved to the 18th.)

[MarkBorkBorkBork]

"be moved" ... seeing the English subjunctive brings a smile to my face. Sadly it is slowly disappearing from common use.

Thank you for your explanation. It makes sense now. :)

[Lundgren8]

"be moved" ... seeing the English subjunctive brings a smile to my face.

I’m glad my English education could bring joy!

[brittalexiswm]

That was very helpful, tack!

[Teixeiraraph]

why would it be incorrect to use besluta in this sentence? (vi försöker besluta)

[dlorbik]

Why is "Vi försöker besluta" wrong?

[aurelio1de1]

same problem here! can somebody answer?

[MarkBorkBorkBork]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Svenska/comments/41q0jp/besluta_vs_best%C3%A4mma/

[aurelio1de1]

Thanks, but I still can't see why 'besluta' is wrong. According to that, I understand it would fit perfectly into this sentence.

[GastonDorren]

Can 'försöka' be followed by either att+infinitive or just the infinitive, without difference in meaning?

[Arnauti]

There's no difference in meaning and both ways are OK, but it's most often used without the att and it sounds better that way.

[GastonDorren]

Thanks!

[g.uh]

How can I know when is optional and when is not?

[Arnauti]

This is our best post about this so far: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/7075383

[FatCat809794]

Thanks for reposting this. Would it be fair to default to using att for most infinitives and learn the exceptions?

[sresr_liga]

Why must bestämma have an 'oss', if we started the sentence with 'vi'?

[MarkBorkBorkBork]

See Lundgren8's comment at the top. There is a difference if the reflexive pronoun is present or not.