Chapter 1:
How to introduce yourself
S
ome foreigners have claimed that Swedes in general are rather reserved and stiff in comparison to their own fellow countrymen. This alleged cultural feature is not a personal quality, however; however; you will soon find out that the Swedes are as passionate, wonderful or silly as most other people you know.
SENTENCES TO STUDY Hej !a" h#ter $$ och %&''er fr(n $$ )ad h#ter du* Hello! I am called … and come from from … What are called you?
!a" h#ter $$ I
am called …
)ar %&''er du ifr(n* + ),rifr(-n %&''er du* Where come you from? / Wherefrom come you?
!a" .r fr(n $ och stud#rar s/ens%a h.-r0 !&ar du i St&c%h&l'* I
am from … and
study Swedish here. Work Work you in Stockholm? Stockholm?
Nej2 ja" ,r#tar 3nte h.-r4 ja" .-r &c%s( stud#nt0 No,
I work
not here; I am too/also student.
NOTES 10 5ersonal pronouns a"# $I% and du# $you% are &ronouns, words denotin" &ersons that &erform an action. In 'n"lish you# can refer either to one indi(idual or to se(eral &ersons; in Swedish you use se&arate forms, de&endin" on the num)er o f &eo&le you are addressin". *he Swedish so+called &ersonal &ronouns are
5ersonal pronouns:
Ojecti/e for's:
Someone or somethin" that is doin" somethin" $-ou $-ou see-%
Someone or somethin" that is the o)ect of an action $-I see you-%
Singular (referring (referring to one person) person)
jag = I
mig/mej = me
1 du = you (Ni _ your [polite form])
dig/dej = you (Er = you [polite form])
han = he
hónom = him
2 hon = he
h!nne = her
" den = it
den = it
det = it
det = it
Plural (referring (referring to two or or more people) people)
#i = $e
o = u
ni = you (Ni = you [polite form])
er = you (Er = you [polite form])
' de (%dom&) = they
' dem (%dom&) = them
1. Swedes usually address each other with the the pronoun ‘du’, regardless regardless of what position they might might have or if they meet meet for the first time; in fact, the formal ‘i’ are nowadays considered old!fashioned and is mainly used when talking to older people. The "nglish ha#it of frequently inserting the name of the person you are talking to is not common in Swedish and can sometimes #e felt too intimate. $. The ‘o’ in ‘hon’ is pronounced pronounced like like ‘oo’ in ‘good’. ‘good’. %. There are two words for ‘it’ in in Swedish. This This is #ecause Swedish, Swedish, unlike unlike "nglish, "nglish, still define define animals animals and things in terms of gender, and is in this respect similar similar to the &erman with its ‘der, die, das’ and the 'rench ‘le, la’. (hether one should use ‘den’ or ‘det’ is decided #y what gender the word it refers to has. has. )n the general and neutral meaning meaning ‘it’ has in phrases like ‘it is cold today’, ‘det’ is used* ‘+et -r kallt idg.’ /. The words for ‘they’ ‘they’ and ‘them’ is normally normally spelled spelled ‘de’ ‘d e’ and ‘dem’ respect respectively ively,, #ut are almost almost always pronounced pronounced ‘dom’.
60 )ers 7 Doin"8or89ein" ords ‘0eter’, ‘kommer’, ‘r’, ‘studerar’, ‘o##ar’ and ‘ar#etar’ are ver#s, words that show what someone2something is or does or what is happening. (hile "nglish has two different endings for regular ver#s depending on who is performing the action 3 ) read, you read, #ut he2she2it reads 3 Swedish very conveniently uses only one form, regardless of person* 4ag k5mmer, du k5mmer, hon k5mmer, vi kommer etc. etc. 6ost regular ver#s use the ending !er, !ar or !r when they are in the present tense, that that is descri#e an an action taking place place now* ‘hon stud7rar’ 8 ‘she studies2is studies2is studying’.
;0
ni = you (Ni = you [polite form])
er = you (Er = you [polite form])
' de (%dom&) = they
' dem (%dom&) = them
1. Swedes usually address each other with the the pronoun ‘du’, regardless regardless of what position they might might have or if they meet meet for the first time; in fact, the formal ‘i’ are nowadays considered old!fashioned and is mainly used when talking to older people. The "nglish ha#it of frequently inserting the name of the person you are talking to is not common in Swedish and can sometimes #e felt too intimate. $. The ‘o’ in ‘hon’ is pronounced pronounced like like ‘oo’ in ‘good’. ‘good’. %. There are two words for ‘it’ in in Swedish. This This is #ecause Swedish, Swedish, unlike unlike "nglish, "nglish, still define define animals animals and things in terms of gender, and is in this respect similar similar to the &erman with its ‘der, die, das’ and the 'rench ‘le, la’. (hether one should use ‘den’ or ‘det’ is decided #y what gender the word it refers to has. has. )n the general and neutral meaning meaning ‘it’ has in phrases like ‘it is cold today’, ‘det’ is used* ‘+et -r kallt idg.’ /. The words for ‘they’ ‘they’ and ‘them’ is normally normally spelled spelled ‘de’ ‘d e’ and ‘dem’ respect respectively ively,, #ut are almost almost always pronounced pronounced ‘dom’.
60 )ers 7 Doin"8or89ein" ords ‘0eter’, ‘kommer’, ‘r’, ‘studerar’, ‘o##ar’ and ‘ar#etar’ are ver#s, words that show what someone2something is or does or what is happening. (hile "nglish has two different endings for regular ver#s depending on who is performing the action 3 ) read, you read, #ut he2she2it reads 3 Swedish very conveniently uses only one form, regardless of person* 4ag k5mmer, du k5mmer, hon k5mmer, vi kommer etc. etc. 6ost regular ver#s use the ending !er, !ar or !r when they are in the present tense, that that is descri#e an an action taking place place now* ‘hon stud7rar’ 8 ‘she studies2is studies2is studying’.
;0
So'e countries and parts of the world with their na'es in Swedish fria
Iran
)rn
meria
=m7rika :5rdam7rika, S>dam7rika
Ira*
)rk
rgentina
=rgent?na
Ireland
@rland
ia
Irael
@srael
utralia
=ustrlien
Italy
)tlien
utria
A-sterr?ke
+apan
4 pan
,elgium
B7lgien Cwith a DhardD gE
-at#ia
F7ttland
,onia
B5snien
-ithuania
FitaGen Cthe accent on the diphthong DauDE
,ra.il
Bras?lien
aedonia
6aked5nien
0anada
Hnada
eio
67Iiko
0hile
Jh?le
Nor$ay
5rge
0hina
H?na
a3itan
Kakistn
0roatia
Hrotien
oland
K5len
0.eh 4epu5li
T7ckien
ortugal
K5rtugal
6enmar3
+nmark
4umania
Lum-nien
Europe
"ur5pa
4uia
L>ssland
Egypt
"g>pten
7otland
Sk5ttland
England8 9reat ,ritain
Mngland, St5r#ritnnien
7er5ia
S7r#ien
Etonia
"-stland
7lo#a3ia
Slovkien
:inland
'?nland
7lo#enia
Slov7nien
:rane
'rnkrike
7outh fria
S>dfrika
9ermany
T>skland
7pain
Spnien
9reee
&r7kland
7$eden
Sv7rige Cpronounced as if its Swedish spelling were DSv7reDE
;olland8 the Netherland
05lland, 7derl-nderna
7$it.erland
Schwe?N Cthe diphthong is pronounced with an DeD sound, sound, not as in &ermanE
;ungary
Ongern
Tha?land Cthe stress on the diphthong DaiD, like in "nglishE
Ieland
@sland
Turk?et
India
@ndien
Chapter 6:
>reetin"s and "oodyes
)
t has #een said that the first impressions last. )f that is true, it may #e valua#le to know how to greet some#ody in a proper way :Swedes are not, for instance, very given to cheek!kissing. 0ere is a list of some salutary phrases in Swedish. Try to find a couple you think could #e useful and memoriNe them.
S?@UT?AY 5HA?SES Hej
This is the most common way of greeting someone, #e it in a formal or informal situation, and can #e used as an equivalent of ‘0ow do you do’ as well as ‘0i :there’.
Tj#naBre
)nformal and friendly. =ctually an a##reviation of 1Pth and 1Qth century phrases like ‘4ag fRr#liver "der Rdmukaste t0nare’ :) remain your most hum#le ser(ant .
Tja
1ery informal and cool. =n a##reviated form of ‘tenare’, often in
com#ination with ‘#a’ :‘t’#a’, a reduced form of ‘#ara’ :only, which in Swedish can #e used like the "nglish ‘sort2kind of ’ as a filler without a real meaning. >od '&r"on
sed in #oth formal and informal situations.
2ood mornin"!
>od da" 2ood day!
>od %/.ll 2ood e(enin"!
This equivalent to ‘0ow do you do’ is mostly used to people you call ‘i’, e.g. elderly people, and on formal occasions. The Swedish ‘good evening’ salute is nowadays mainly reserved for somewhat formal meetings or to people you address with the ‘i’ pronoun. The synonymous eIpression ‘&od afton’ is rather antiquated #y now.
NOTE *# is &ronounced a )it shar&er than the 'n"lish sh# sound 3 as in shut#, )ut with the middle &art of the ton"ue &ressed more towards the &alate $c&. 2erman ch# in ich#%.
=f you just ha/e een introduced to so'eone you 'i"ht add: Tr#/li"t att r(-%as
+emonstrating that you are a polite and well!#ehaved person.
Nice to meet 4you5!
n"en.-'t 6leasant/nice 4to meet you5!
This equivalent to &erman ‘=ngenehm’ and 'rench ‘"nchant7’ is definitely old!fashioned, #ut could #e popular among mature ladies.
NOTE 7ike in 'n"lish some consonants chan"e sound when they are followed )y certain (owels $caf8 + city; "uest + "ist%. *hese so+called soft (owels are in Swedish e, i y, 0, 9. *he "# in an"en0mt#, which &receeds the soft (owel e#, is therefore &ronounced like y# in yes#, not like "# in "ood#. :ead more a)out the rules for &ronounciation in cha&ter !
=f you %now the person in uestion you can as%: Hur st(r det till* How stands it to?
0as got a slightly formal touch, #ut can also #e used in informal situations.
Hur .r det*
)nformal, very common.
How is it?
Hur har du det*
)nformal, very frequent.
How ha(e you it?
Hur .r l.-"et*
= #it more informal, very common.
Hos is the situation?
@.-"et* *he situation?
=n a##reviated and more informal form of 0ur r lgetU. = common com#ination is* T’#aV FgetU
Hur "(r det*
Jould refer to life in general, #ut also to a specific task or o#.
How "oes it?
Hur '(r du* How feel you?
Showing concern, focusing on the health2well!#eing of some! #ody.
Hur .r det 'ed Bfa'3ljen*
Showing more personal interest when including someone else.
How is it with 4the family5?
Suitale answers Tac%2 B,ra ra
Wery common. Jan #e used no matter how you feel X
Thanks, [just/only] fine!
S%,pli"t + HFfsat
(ith the Swedish avoidance of superlatives. Yuite frequent.
Fairly well / Decent
S( d.r + Det %Gnde /,ra .-ttre0
Two variants of the same theme* ot very well, #ut )’ll survive.
So there / It could be better
nte s( ra2 ty/.-rr0 Not so ood, unfortunately
:Zou are eIpected to show genuine concern when some#ody tells you this.
How to say "oodye$ Hej d(
Wery common, can #e used anywhere.
Hello then!
?djI-
'ormal, dismissive. (hen used alone equivalent to ‘good day’.
?djI- s( l.-n"e
6ore informal than ust ‘adR’* ‘good#ye for now’, ‘so long’.
>od natt
)nformal, very frequent.
2ood ni"ht!
[utmoded, often used in a melodramatic way.
Ha det s( ra Ha(e it soo "ood!
)i ses: e ee [eah other]> •
•
•
•
•
•
•
!nare later i mórgon in mornin" 4i.e. tomorrow5 i 3#?ll in e(enin" 4i.e. toni"ht5 nart soon om en tund in a while n?ta #!3a ne=t week p@ m@Andag / tBdag / óndag / tórdag / fr!dag / lCArdag / CAndag on >onday/*uesday etc.
)nformal, very common, like ‘take care’. [ften in com#ination with ‘he d9’. See youV
Chapter ;:
Thin"s in "eneral and particular
K
ractically nothing is left in "nglish of the rich inflection of words that characteriNed the prehistoric ancestor of the )ndo!"uropean family. Traces of this ancient and very compleI system of showing the eIact meaning of a word in a sentence #y changing its endings are still preserved in many formations in related languages, to some eItent also in Swedish. This can #e seen in how nouns, i.e. naming words :denoting persons, animals, things, material, and a#stracts, like house, love, and dog are treated. To use the correct forms of a Swedish noun you need to know the answers to the following questions* •
>ender
)s the word an en word or an ett wordU •
=ndefinite or definite
+oes the word denote something in general :indefinite form* ‘a #us’, any #us or someone or something specific :definite form* ‘the2this #us’U •
Nu'er: Sin"ular or plural
=re you referring to one thing or severalU :See chapter /V
This is less complicated than it sounds, however.
>ENDEA: EN OA ETT* 'irst of all, in Standard Swedish all nouns #elong to one of two genders or seIes* the en!word group :in which 1 we find approIimately Q\] of all nouns or the ett!word group :around $\]. )t is important to know which group a noun #elongs to if you wish to speak good Swedish, since the group #elonging affects what endings or special forms of other words to use 3 #ut it may #e comforting to know that the differences #etween the groups are not very #ig, and very seldom would anyone have any difficulties in understanding you ust #ecause you have miIed up the groups. "nglish is very simple in this respect, since it treats all the nouns the $ same way* There is no grammatical difference #etween ‘a woman’ and ‘a child’, for eIample. )n contrast to this very easy!to!learn system Swedish sees ‘woman’ as an en word :‘en kv?nna’ #ut ‘child’ as an ett word :‘ett #arn’, and therefore uses two different words for the "nglish ‘a’ to differentiate #etween them. The rules for telling whether a noun is an en word or an ett word are rather intricate as well as vague, and it would #e easier ust to memoriNe each noun together with the article ‘en’ or ‘ett’ to avoid confusion. (ords denoting people and animals, though, are, with very few eIceptions :among them ‘ett #arn’, and ‘ett dur’ 3 an animal, en words. )f you are not sure what form to use, treat the noun as an en word; statistically you would then #e right four times out of five. . >any Swedish dialects still use the older di(ision of nouns into three "enders masculine, feminine, and neuter, and refer to thin"s as he, she or it, like 2erman. In Standard Swedish the nouns of the ori"inal masculine and feminine "enders form the en+word "rou&. @. 'n"lish has also two forms of the indefinite article a# and an# $as in an e=am&le#% )oth deri(ed from the word for one#. Since which one to use is decided )y the initial sound of the followin" word only, they do not ha(e the "rammatical si"nificance as the Swedish en# and ett#.
=NDE<=N=TE OA DE<=N=TE* )n "nglish you use the word ‘the’ :which with a linguistic term is called ‘the definite article’ to show that you are referring to one or several things or individuals in particular* ‘a #us’ #ut ‘the #us’, not ust any #us, #ut a specific #us. )n Swedish this definite article early #ecame attached directly to the noun*
En words =ndefinite
Definite
en da"
dDgen
a/one day
en hand
hDnden
a/one hand
en '.-nnis%a
m?Anni3an
a/one man/human )ein"
Ett words =ndefinite
Definite
ett (r a/one year
@Aret
ett arn
5Drnet
a/one child
ett %I%
3CA3et
a/one kitchen
ett I-"a
CAgat
a/one eye
The special endings for the definite forms are thus !:en and !:et; a noun that ends in a vowel will take only !n or !t. NOTES +sk+ in m0An niska# is &ronounced similarly as sh# in shut#, while k# in k9k# is &ronounced like the t# sound, since it is followed )y a soft (owel. :ead more a)out the &ronunciation in Bha&ter C. Ds mentioned in cha&ter the 'n"lish &ronoun it# can )e e=&ressed in two ways in Swedish, de&endin" on the "ender of the word it stands for den# for en words, det# for ett words and in neutral e=&ressions like it#s hot in here#.
SENTENCES TO STUDY )ar .r 3len* Den st(r h.r0 Where is the car? It stands here.
Hur 'Fc%et .r %l&c%an* !a" /et 3nte2 den .r tr,si"0 Jen det .r sent2 #ller hur* How much is the clock/watch 4i.e. What time is it?5? I know not, it is )roke. Eut it is late, or how 4i.e. ri"ht/isn#t it5?
Ser du hGset* Det l3""er d.r+d.r &rta See you the ho use? It lies there/there away $i.e. o(er there%. .
NOTE When descri)in" location, that is where somethin" is, Swedes often say that thin"s FstandF $FstGrF% or FlieF $Fli""erF% somewhere, instead of ust sayin" Fthey are hereF. Which e=&ression to choose de&ends on the o)ect in uestion and its &osition.
-'ller hur- has only this form, and corres&onds to the 'n"lish e=&ressions -he#s tall, isn#t he?-, -you#re tired, aren#t you?, -they won#t come, will they?-, -she does like me, doesn#t she?-, and so on, )ut is not used as freuently as in 'n"lish.
Chapter K:
E/en 'ore thin"s
T
o show that a noun is in the plural in "nglish an ‘s’ is usually added to the noun* one house, #ut two house s. The formation of nouns in the plural is more compleI in Swedish. The Swedish nouns are usually divided into five groups, depending on their plural endings* !or, !ar, !:er, !n; the fifth group has not got any ending at all in the indefinite form, #ut looks the same #oth in the singular and in the plural. =s soon as you know to which group a noun #elong, you can easily determine what the definite form :‘ the cars’, not ust any cars must #e* 10 8or Ldefinite for': 8naM
60 8ar Ldefinite for': 8naM
;0 8LeMr Ldefinite for': 8naM
K0 8n Ldefinite for': 8aM
0 7 Ldefinite for': 8enM
en words# that end in an unstressed +a
en words# that end in an unstressed +e, and monosylla)ic en words# that end in a consonant
en words# with the stress on the last (owel, and ett words# with more than one sylla)le with a stress on the last (owel
>ainly ett words# that end in a (owel
ett words# that end in a consonant, and en words# endin" in +are
en %l&c%a
en da"
en telef&n
ett st.-lle
ett arn
a/one clock, watch
a/one day
a/one tele&hone
a/one &lace, s&ot
a/one child
t/( %l&c%or
t/( d,"ar
t/( telef&ner
t/( st.-llen
t/( arn
two clocks, watches
two days
two tele&hones
two &laces, s&ots
two children
%l&c%orna
d,"arna
telef&nerna
st.-llena
,rnen
the clocks, watches
the days
the tele&hones
the &laces, s&ots
the children
en '.-nnis%a
en il
en 'inGt
ett ,r#te
ett (r
a/one human )ein"
a/one car
a/one minut
a/one o), work
a/one year
t/( '.-nnis%or
t/( 3lar
t/( 'inGter
t/( ,r#ten
t/( (r
two human )ein"s
two cars
two minutes
two o)s, works
two years
'.-nnis%orna
3larna
'inGterna
,r#tena
(-ren
the human )ein"s
the cars
the minutes
the o)s, works
the years
There are also some irregular nouns in Swedish, like in "nglish, which do not follow this model :e.g. ‘en man’ 2 ‘tv9 mn’, ‘en fot’ 2 ‘tv9 fRtter’, for ‘man’ and ‘foot’ respectively. 6any of them are very common and will therefore #e easy to remem#er. Fists like the one a#ove may look rather terrifying, even in this simplified form, #ut should not cause you any discomfort. )t is not primarily #y word lists and grammars that you learn a language and its structure, #ut #y reading, listening, and repeating. There are some general rules of thum# for what ending to take 3 for instance that the most common ending for en words is !ar 3 #ut, after all, in the end your choosing the right ending will most likely #e #ecause you have met the word in different conteIts several times #efore, not #ecause of grammatical charts. )n many dictionaries you will find the nouns listed with the singular endings in the definite and the plural endings in the indefinite form, which is enough to know for most nouns* ‘fr9-g2a !n !or : en 8 question’ shows that the word ‘fr9ga’ has the following forms* • • • •
en fr("a a uestion $indefinite form sin"ular% fr("an the uestion $definite form sin"ular% fr("or LanyM uestions $indefinite form &lural% fr("orna the uestions $definite form &lural%
SENTENCES TO STUDY !a" /et 3nte /ar cF%larna st(r0 !a" ser de' Bpronounced Pd o'Q 3nte2 i ,lla fall0 I know not where the )ikes are. I see them not, in all cases $i.e. anyway%.
De Bpronounced Pdo'Q %,ns%e st(r ,%o' hGsen d.r &rta0 De+do' /ar d.r fIrGt0 *hey may)e stand )ehind the houses o(er there. *hey were there )efore.
Ran /i 3nte ta Gssen ist.-llet* Ban we not take the )us instead?
9Gssarna "(r 3nte l.-n"re h.-rifr(-n2 ty/.-rr0 *he )uses "o not lon"er herefrom, unfortunately/-I#m sorry-
)et du /ar stati&nen l3""er d(* )i %an ta t(-"et ist.-llet2 fast det .r sent0 )ad tFc%er du* now you where the station lies, then? We can take the train instead, e(en+thou"h it is late. What think you?
Det "(r ra0 Det tar en t3''e l.-n"re he'2 'en ja" har 3nte r(-tto'0 It "oes well $i.e. -It#s fine/J-%. It takes a/one hour lon"er $to% home, )ut I ha(e not hurry $i.e. -I#m in no hurry-%.
)i .r .-nd(- h#''a snart0 We are still $at% home soon.
NOTES •
*he re"ular (er)s in Swedish end in +r in the &resent. *he irre"ular (er)s, often the most freuent ones, can also ha(e other endin"s (et# $a distant relati(e of the 'n"lish word wit#% K know, kan# K can.
•
Lem# $the o)ecti(e form of the &ersonal &ronoun they#% is &ronounced the same way as they# dom#.
•
Nouns like cMkel# lose their +e when formin" the &lural en cMkel, cMkeln, t(G cMklar, cMklarna.
•
*a# $in -kan ta- K can take% is a form of the (er) which is called the infiniti(e $see cha&ter %.
•
Hem# means home# as in -Home, sweet home- and is also used as an e=&ression of direction $like in -7et#s "o home-%, while h8mma# is the eui(alent to -at home-.
NUJ9EAS The num#ers are very frequent in Swedish, as in "nglish, and should therefore #e memoriNed at an early stage. There are two types of num#ers* Bardinal num)ers :one, two, three etc., and ordinal num)ers :first, second, third etc. (ith the eIception of ‘en, ett’ 3 #oth old acquaintances #y now 3 all num#ers have only one form and do not change with the gender or the num#er of the noun. The pronounciation of some num#ers often differs somewhat from the spelling in everyday speach, as shown within #rackets, #ut only /\ is ne(er pronounced the way it is spelled* ‘fyrtio’ always #ecomes ‘fR-rtiCoE’. Cardinal nu'ers
Ordinal nu'ers
Cardinal nu'ers
Ordinal nu'ers
F
noll
G
21
tjugo!n8 tjugo!tt 4-tu "i+-5
tjugofCArta 4-tu+-, -tu"i+-5
1
en8 ett
fCArta
22
tjugot#@A 4-tu"i+-5
tjugoDndra 4-tu+-, -tu"i+-5
2
t#@
Dndra
2"
tjugotr! 4-tu"i+-5
tjugotr!dje 4-tu+-, -tu"i+-5
"
tre
tr!dje
2'
tjugofHra 4-tu "i+-5
tjugofj?Arde 4-tu+-, -tu"i+-5
'
fHra
fj?Arde
2
tjugof!m 4-tu "i+-5
tjugof!mte 4-tu+-, -tu"i+-5
fem
f!mte
2J
tjugo! 4-tu"i+-5
tjugoj?Atte 4-tu+-, -tu"i+-5
J
e
j?Atte
2K
tjugojL 4-tu"i+-5
tjugojLnde 4-tu+-, -tu"i+-5
K
ju
jLnde
2M
tjugo@Atta 4-tu"i+-5
tjugo@Attonde 4-tu+-, -tu"i+-5
M
@Atta
@Attonde
2
tjugonBo 4-tu"i+-5
tjugonBonde 4-tu+-, -tu"i+-5
nBo [OnBeO]
nBonde
"F
tr!ttio 4-tr8tti-5
tr!ttionde
1F
tBo [OtBeO]
tBonde
'F
fHrtio 4-f9Arti-5
fHrtionde [fCArtionde]
11
!l#a
!lfte
F
f!mtio 4-f8mti-5
f!mtionde
12
tol#
tólfte
JF
!tio 4-s8=ti-5
!tionde
1"
tr!tton
tr!ttonde
KF
jLttio -sOtti-5
jLttionde
1'
fjórton
fjórtonde
MF
@Attio 4-GAtti-5
@Attionde
1
f!mton
f!mtonde
F
nBttio 4-nPtti-5
nBttionde
1J
!ton
!tonde
1FF
[!tt]hLndra
hLndrade
1K
jLtton
jLttonde
1F
[!tt]hundraf!mtio
[!tt]hundraf!mtionde
1M
Drton
Drtonde
[!tt]tuen
tLende
1
nBtton
nBttonde
18FFF8FFF [en] miljón
miljónte
2F
tjLgo 4-tO"i-5
tjLgonde
18FFF
1K
as an ordinary num)er %ettuenniohundra nittionio&P when referrin" to the year %nittonhundranittionio &
Chapter :
hat is yours li%e*
B
y now you have met, in one form or another, around 1\\ frequent Swedish words. That may not sound like much to you, #ut what you have learned so far will ena#le you to decipher many Swedish teIts on your own #y using a good dictionary 3 the normal voca#ulary of everyday speech actually rarely comprises more than 1,\\\31,^\\ words. There are, however, a few more things a#out Swedish grammar you should know #efore plunging into deep water, among them* a 0ow adectives are formed, and # 0ow ver#s change in different tenses. )n this chapter we will deal with the adectives; at the same time we will introduce the so!called possessive pronouns :mine, yours, his, hers etc., since some of them follow the same pattern as the adectives. Zou may find this chapter rather heavy, #ut do not worry. Take one thing at a time and you will find that it is not that complicated after all; there are only some things you need to memoriNe. =nd #esides, it is not a serious pro#lem if you happen to miI the endings of the adectives up occasionally, since people will understand you anyway. So what is an adectiveU =dectives are simply quality words, words that descri#e things or people, like red , hi"h, an"ry, and small . )n 6odern "nglish there is one form only left for each adective, regardless of its position in a sentence or the num#er of things2person it is you are referring to* • • • •
lon dayQ
6ost Swedish adectives have three endings, depending on whether they are used together with an en word or an ett word or are in the plural*
ith en words
ith ett words
ith words in the plural
En #en3 ómmarQ D Swedish summer.
Ett #en3t namnQ D Swedish name.
<#@ #!n3a ómrar/namnQ *wo Swedish summers/names.
En 3all #BnterQ D cold winter.
RDttnet [indefQ %#Dtten&] ?r 3alltQ *he water is cold.
RBntrarna/#Dttnen ?r 3DllaQ *he winters/waters are cold.
En l@ng #@rQ D lon" s&rin".
4Lmmet ?r l@ngtQ *he room is lon".
-@Anga #@Arar/rumQ 7on" s&rin"s/rooms.
En #arm ?ngQ D warm )ed.
Ett #armt ta3Q D warm thank.
RDrma ?Angar/ta3Q Warm )eds/thanks
NDtten ?r lugnQ *he ni"ht is calm/uiet.
Ett lugnt li#Q D calm/uiet life.
-Lgna n?Atter/li#Q Balm/uiet ni"hts/li(es.
En hel BdaQ D whole/entire &a"e/side.
Ett helt fol3Q D whole/entire &eo&le
;!la Bdor/fol3Q Whole &a"es/&eo&les.
En tor dCrrQ D )i" door.
Ett tort landQ D )i" country.
6CArrarna/l?Anderna ?r tóraQ *he doors/countries are )i".
En tar3 3#BnnaQ D stron" woman.
-jLet ?r tar3tQ *he li"ht is stron"
S#Bnnorna/ljLen ?r tDr3aQ *he women/li"hts are stron".
=AAE>U@?A ?D!ECT=)ES En lBten 5ilQ D little/small car.
:CAntret [indefQ fCnter] ?r lBtetQ *he window is little/small.
7m@ 5Blar/fCAnterQ 7ittle/small cars/windows.
;CAten ?r #D3erQ *he autumn is )eautiful.
Ett #D3ert DnB3teQ D )eautiful face.
@Anga #D3ra hCAtar/DnB3tenQ >any )eautiful autumns/faces.
En god tDn3eQ D "ood thou"ht.
9ott lutT D "ood end $to the old year%!
9óda tDn3ar/lutQ 2ood thou"hts/ends.
,ó3en ?r 5raQ *he )ook is "ood.
Ett 5ra Dr5!teQ D "ood work/o).
,ra 5CA3er/Dr5!tenQ 2ood )ook/o)s.
En 3ort tundQ D short/)rief while/moment.
Ett 3ort CAgon5lB3 D short/)rief moment.
7tLnderna/CAgon5lB3en ?r 3órtaQ *he moments are short/)rief.
:r@Agan ?r l?ttQ *he uestion is easy/li"ht.
Ett l?tt tegQ Dn easy/li"ht ste&.
-?Atta fr@Agor/tegQ 'asy/li"ht uestions/ste&s.
En trCtt 3roppQ *he tired )ody.
Ett trCtt hL#udQ D tired head.
En ny tidQ D new time/era.
Ett nytt hemQ D new home.
NHa tBder/hemQ New times/homes.
Dnnen ?r gDmmalQ *he man is old.
Ett gDmmalt parQ Dn old cou&le/&air.
9Dmla m?n/parQ Jld men/cou&les.
En glad nHh!tQ D "lad/ha&&y $&iece of% news
Ett glatt 5e3!dQ D "lad/ha&&y information/answer.
9lDda nHh!ter/5e3!dQ Ha&&y news/informations.
=s you can see the regular adectives receive the ending !t when used together with ett words. There is only one plural ending, regardless of gender* !a :stor, stort, stora. Zou should not #e discouraged #y the fact that some of the adectives a#ove are slightly irregular. They are very common and will therefore #e easy to learn. NOTES
‘Natt’ (‘night’) has a special plural form – ‘nä´tter’ – but is otherwise formed regularly. The wedish word ‘man’ is! li"e its #nglish counterpart! irregular$ • • • •
Sin"ular indefinite 'n man $a man% Sin"ular definite >Qnnen $the man% 6lural indefinite *(G m0n $two men% 6lural definite >0Annen $the men%
*his man# should not )e mistaken for the common &ronoun man#. In 'n"lish you can use the words one# or you# when talkin" a)out thin"s in "eneral, when not referrin" to a s&ecific &erson -Jne/you would think that etc.-, -Jne has $you ha(e% to acce&t that one is $you are% only human- and so on. *he Swedish indefinite &ronoun man# has the same function 3 ->an l0r sG l0An"e man l8(er- $-one learns as lon" as one li(es-% 3 and e=ists only in this form. $Bom&are with the 2erman man# and the
drinks, or to &ersonal ualities, sometimes e(en with reli"ious connotations -'n )ra m0Anniska- would )e a decent, trustworthy &erson, whereas -en "od m0Anniska- more would con(ey the im&ression of a >other *heresa, so to s&eak. *he adecti(e lPten# $little, small#% is also irre"ular, and has no &lural form of its own; instead another word is used in the &lural liten, litet, smG. Dfter an identifyin" word $see )elow% liten# is chan"ed to lilla# Len lilla ) Plen# $the/that little car#%.
So'e colors in Swedish: Colour
ith en words
ith ett words
ith words in the plural
5la3 5lue 5ro$n green red $hite yello$
#art 5l@ 5run grCn rCd #it gul
#art 5l@tt 5runt grCnt rCtt #itt gult
#Drta 5l@A(a) 5rLna grCAna rCAda #Bta gLla
?djecti/es and identifyin" words =ll adectives follow the a#ove pattern when placed directly #efore a noun in the indefinite form :‘en gmmal man’ or after a form of the Swedish ver#s for ‘#e’ :in this case the word ‘r’, ‘#ecome’, and ‘make’ :hGset r vitt. But here comes the tricky part* (hen an adective is preceded #y a word that points out or identifies the noun in question is a specific thing or person, or #elonging to some#ody2something, the adective is weakened, and will only take the ending !a, no matter if it refers to an en word or an ett word or is in the singular or the plural. :(ith one eIception* )f the noun is a male person, the ending will formally #e !e instead, a remnant of the old three! gender system, #ut this distinction nowadays usually applies to written Swedish only. 'or the sake of clarity, a rather intimidating list of such identifying or ‘pointing!out’ words is included #elow. The simple key to it all is that the adecti(e, when &receded )y an identifyin"# word, takes an +a .
10 The possessi/e pronouns ith en words
ith ett words
ith words in the plural
"in (gDmla 5il) din (#D3ra Hter [iter])
"itt (nHa hu) ditt (#Bta fCAnter)
"#na (gDmla 5Blar/nHa hu) dina (#D3ra Htrar/#Bta fC
his
han (rCAda H3el)
her, hers
h!nne (tóra ?ng)
han (!ngel3a [Englih] namn) h!nne (#Drma ta3)
its
de (lBlla hand)
de (#Bta lju)
our, ours
$%r (glDda nHh!t)
$%rt (lLgna li#)
er (lBlla dótter [daughter])
ert (#D3ra 5arn)
d!ra (l@Ange on [on])
d!ra (tóra rum)
my, mine your, yours 4sin".5
your, yours 4&lural5 their, theirs
Anter) han (rCAda H3lar/!ngel3a namn) h!nne (tóra ? Angar/#Drma ta3) de (m@ h?Under/#Bta lju) $%ra (glDda nHh!ter/lLgna li#) &ra (m@ dCAttrar/#D3ra 5arn) d!ra (l@Anga CAner/tóra rum)
[nly the us pronouns :my, your, ours have separate forms for en words and ett words, similar to the endings for the adectives; for the others there is only one form. The possessive pronouns in Swedish can also stand independently, without any change, in contrast to "nglish* _r det din #ilU 4a , den r min. :)s it your carU Zes, it’s mine. There is also a common pronoun without a counterpart in "nglish which is also treated in a similar way* ‘sin’ :with ett words* ‘sitt’, in the plural* ‘sina’. )t is closely related to the possessive pronouns 3 it is actually a so!called refleIive form of them 3 and can mean either ‘his’, ‘her’, ‘its’, or ‘their’. "ven most Swedes many
times find it difficult to tell when to use ‘sin’ or a regular pos sessive pronoun when a sentence #ecomes more compleI, so you need not to #e overly concerned a#out mastering it at this stage. The rule of thum# is* Sin# refers to the &erson or thin" that does somethin", and is used e(ery time you could insert own# in 'n"lish.
The following eIamples might help you to see the difference* Han %Fsser sin Gn"a hGstru passion#rat0 He kisses his $own% youn" wife &assionately.
Han %Fsser hans Gn"a hGstru passion#rat0 He kisses his $i.e. someone else#s% youn" wife &assionately.
60 Na'es and nouns showin" possession> O'ohn(s [old $ath]O G O+óhan [gDmla 3ló3a]O Othe wo"an(s [$hite ar]O G O3#Bnnan [#Bta 5 il]O O)o"(s [ne$ jo5]O G OmDmma [nHa jo55/Dr5!te]O
The genitive denotes a person or thing that possesses something, and is formed #y adding an !s to the name or the noun, like in "nglish, #ut without the apostrophe. Swedish uses the genitive construction more often than "nglish; #asically the usage is the same, though. "nglish also often favors a construction with ‘of’, mainly when referring to thing, #ut Swedish is in many cases quite happy to use the !s form even there* the ne$ retor of the school skRlans nMa r8ktor the ity of 7to3holm StRckhRlms stad
;0 Other words desi"natin"+indicatin" a specific thin" or person ith en words
ith ett words
ith words in the plural
den (#D3ra 3#Bnnan) the $)eautiful woman%
det (gDmla hLet) the $old house%
de/dom (#D3ra 3#Bnnorna/gDmla hLen) the $)eautiful women/old houses%
den h?r (#Drma ómmaren) this $warm summer%
det h?r (tóra rLmmet) this $)i" room%
de/dom h?r (#Drma ómrarna/tóra rLmmen) these $warm summers/)i" houses%
den d?r (Lnge mDnnen) that $youn" man%
det d?r (lilla fCntret) that $little window%
de/dom d?r (Lnga m?Annen/m@ fC Antren) those $youn" men/small windows%
)n the second hapter you learned that there is no definite article like the "nglish ‘the’ in Swedish; instead special endings are attached to the nouns to show that they are in the definite form. There is only one eIception to the rule* (hen an adective is followed #y a noun in the definite form, like a#ove, a special definite article is placed in front of the adective. This is quite easy, really* These ‘articles’ are old acquaintances, identical to the pronouns ‘den’, ‘det’, and ‘de’ :‘dom’ you met in the first chapter :see the first eIample under paragraph % a#ove* det s/#ns%a f&l%et the Swedish &eo&le
‘+en’, ‘det’, and ‘de’ have a strong demonstrative quality and can also #e used as synonymous to ‘den dr2det dr2de dr’*
!a" /ill ha den Ld.rM 3len0 I want $to% ha(e that car.
NOTES *his/that/these/those# are in collouial Swedish formed )y addin" a h0r# $here#% and d0r# $there#% res&ecti(ely to the &ronouns den/det# $it#% and de# $they#%. *he noun it refers to is then always in the definite form -Len h0r "Qmla )Plen/Le d0r "Qmla )Plarna- $-*his old car/*hose old cars-%; &lease o)ser(e that de# is also here &ronounced dom#. In more formal written Swedish the followin" forms still take &recedence, howe(er • • • •
d8nne# $this 4male &erson5% d8nna# $this 4female &erson5, this 4thin"5% 4for en words5 d8tta# $this 4thin"5% 4for ett words5 d8ssa# $these/those 4&eo&le/thin"s5% 4&lural5
Dfter one of these words the noun must )e in the indefinite form -L8nna "Qmla )il- $-*his old car-%.
Chapter :
To co'pare and to e co'pared
)
t is very easy to compare things in Swedish, almost as easy as it is in "nglish* Zou ust add a special ending to show that something is not ust good #ut #etter, or even the #est*
5ositi/e Lasic for'M
Co'parati/e Loth sin"ular pluralM
Superlati/e2 indefinite for' Loth sin"ular pluralM
Superlati/e2 definite for' Lafter identifyin" words2 oth sin"ular pluralM
tar38 tar3t8 tDr3a stron"
tDr3are stron"er
tDr3ast stron"est
tDr3aste $the% stron"est
#ag8 #agt8 #Dga weak
#Dgare weaker
#Dg ast weakest
#Dg aste $the% weakest
h@rd8 h@rt8 h@Arda hard
h@Ardare harder
h@Ardast hardest
h@Ardaste $the% hardest
ful8 fult8 fLla u"ly
fLlare u"lier
fLlast u"liest
fLlaste $the% u"liest
dyr8 dyrt8 dHra e=&ensi(e
dHr are more e=&ensi(e
dHr ast most e=&ensi(e
dHr aste $the% most e=&ensi(e
#D3er8 #D3ert8 #D3ra )eautiful
#D3r are more )eautiful
#D3r ast most )eautiful
#D3r aste $the% most )eautiful
!n3el8 !n3elt8 !n3la easy, sim&le
!n3lare easier, sim&ler
!n3last easiest/sim&lest
!n3laste $the% easiest/sim&lest
nlike the #asic form, which changes depending on gender and num#er, the comparative has only this form. That is also true for the superlative, with the eIception of when the adective is preceded #y an identifying word :like ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘my’; the ending ! ast will then receive an eItra ! e.
SENTENCES TO STUDY Din il .r /#r%li"en 'Fc%et ful2 'en den .r 3nte fGlare .n 'in0 our car is really (ery u"ly, )ut it is not u"lier than mine.
)ad tFc%er du* Det h.r .r 'in f3naste j,c%a0 Vr den t3llr.-c%li"t fin fIr f#sten i %/.ll* What think you? *his is my finest acket. Is it enou"h/sufficiently fine for the &arty toni"ht?
Den .r j.-ttef3n n"en ,nnan har n(-"on f3nare2 det /et ja"0 It is -"iant-+fine $i.e. a)solutely )eautiful%! No)ody other $i.e. no)ody else% has anyone finer.
NOTES
7ike in 'n"lish, some adecti(es &refer or e(en reuire the words mer# $more#% or mest# $most#% instead, to show that they are in the com&arati(e or su&erlati(e form. *o this "rou& )elon" all adecti(es endin" in +isk, which cannot take the endin"s +are and +ast, and some lon"er ad ecti(es, none of them (ery freuent, thou"h. Since the adecti(e itself remains its )asic form when it is com)inated with mer# and most#, it will chan"e like any other adecti(e, de&endin" on if it is referrin" to an en word, an ett word, or a word in the &lural $c&. cha&ter % -m er &rQktisk- $more &ractical 4sin"ular5%, )ut -mer &rQktiska- $more &ractical 4&lural5%. In collouial Swedish many adecti(es are often com)ined with the word 0Atte# $which literally means "iant#% to add em&hasis • • •
0AttestRr# 3 (ery )i", hu"e 0AttelPten# 3 (ery small, tiny 0Atte)rQ# 3 (ery "ood, "reat
=rre"ular co'parati/e for's Some of the most common adectives have irregular forms in the comparative and the superlative. These irregularities consist mainly of a change of vowel, sometimes also a reduced length of vowel. "ven though the endings differ from the chart a#ove, they are throughout the same* ! re in the comparative, ! st and ! sta in the superlative. +ue to the high frequency of these adectives, you would do well in memoriNing them #efore going any further, especially the first four of them*
5ositi/e Lasic for'M
Co'parati/e
Superlati/e
Superlati/e2 definite for' Lafter an identifyin" wordM
5ra "ood
5?Attre )etter
5?st )est
5?Asta $the% )est
d@Alig )ad
?Amre worse
?mst worst
?msta $the% worst
lBten little/small
mBndre smaller
minst smallest/least
mBnsta $the% smallest/least
gDmmal old
?Aldre older
?ldst oldest
?Ald sta $the% oldest
hCg hi"h
hCAgre hi"her
hCgst hi"hest
hCAgsta $the% hi"hest
l@g low
l?Agre lower
l?gst lowest
l?Agsta $the% lowest
l@ng lon", tall
l?Angre lon"er/taller
l?ngst lon"est/tallest
l?Angsta $the% lon"est/tallest
tor )i"/lar"e
tCAr re )i""er/lar"er
tCr st )i""est/lar"est
tCAr sta $the% )i""est/lar"est
tung hea(y
tHngre hea(ier
tyngst hea(iest
tHngsta $the% hea(iest
ung youn"
Hngre youn"er
yngst youn"est
Hngsta $the youn"est
NOTE
(hen denoting one male person the ! sta in the definite form of the superlative is changed to ! ste :this rule is often ignored in everyday spoken Swedish, though* Han .r 'in .-ste /.n0 Han och hans ror .r '3na .-sta /.-nner0 He is my )est friend. He and his )rother is/are my )est friends.
So'e useful pronouns: Noody 7 So'eody 7 E/eryody 7 ?nother Since you already are acquainted with the rules for using the adectives, you will have no pro#lems in learning the Swedish equivalents of pronouns like ‘no#ody2nothing’ and ‘some#ody2something’ 3 they follow a very similar pattern.
Aeferrin" to persons and en words
Aeferrin" to ett words
Aeferrin" to any words in the plural
No)ody/nothin"
Bngen
Bnget
Bnga
Some)ody/somethin"
n@Agon
n@Agot
n@Agra
Dll, e(erythin"/e(ery)ody
(all [rarely ued])
allt
Dlla
E)EAY
‘Wre’, the word for ‘every’, has like its "nglish relative only one form :for natural reasons there is no plural form* !a" l.-ser t3dnin"en en t3''e /,rje '&r"on0 I read the &a&er one hour e(ery mornin".
)i (-%er till l,ndet p( s&''aren /,rje (r0 We "o to the countryside on the summer e(ery year.
?d/ers 7 the how+when+where words (hen a descriptive word in "nglish is linked to a ver# 3 the ‘action’ word 3 or an adective, instead of the person or thing that does something, it usually receives the ending ! ly* She is eautiful pianist0 He is slow0 You are a'aWin"0
But* She plays beautifully 0 He wal%s slowly 0 You are amazingly cle/er0
These forms are called adver#s, and descri#e how, when, and where. )n Swedish adver#s of this kind are identical to the ett word form of the adective :with the ending ! t in the positive, comparative, and superlative, which you have already met in the previous chapter* Han "(r lå´ngsamt 0 Hon sp#lar váckert 0 Du .r ótróligt s'art0 He walks slowly. She &lays )eautifully. ou are amaTin"ly cle(er.
There is also another type of adver#s, which have the same function as the ones a#ove, even though they do not have a special ending. The word ‘ig9-r’ :‘yesterday’ answers the question ‘whenU’ and is therefore an adver#. ‘07mma’ :‘at home’ shows where something takes place, while ‘skta’ :another word for ‘slowly’ defines how something is done. The "nglish words ‘very’ and ‘rather’ are also adver#s, like their Swedish equivalents ‘m>cket’ and ‘gnska’, respectively.
Chapter X:
Doin" and ein"
Z
ou have already met a few ver#s in the previous chapters. Wer#s are doing!or!#eing words, words that show what is happening or what someone2something is or does* ) am, it was rainin" , they screemed . )n old )ndo!"uropean languages like Fatin and &reek each ver# could have a hundred different forms or more. [ne single ver# could at the same time show when something happened, who did it or who did what to whom, whether the action was completed or not, and if it actually had happened at all. =nd all that ust #y adding a specific ending and2or slightly changing the stem of the ver#. )n "nglish and in Swedish there is fortunately very little left of this, even though "nglish, in contrast to Swedish, in some cases still has a separate ending if there is a ‘he’, ‘she’, or ‘it’ doing something* ) sing :ag sunger, #ut she sings :hon sunger. )nstead of inflecting the ver#, that is modifying it through a change of vowels or through various endings or other ways, these two languages 3 like many other modern languages 3 mainly use helping ver#s :auIiliary ver#s to show the eIact meaning of the ver#* = spea%0 = will spea%0 = have spo%en0 !a" t,lar0 !a" ska t,la0 !a" har t,lat0
Wer#s are traditionally divided into groups, #ased on the time aspect, the ‘tense’, of the ver#. :‘Tense’ is derived from the Fatin word ‘tempus’, which means ust ‘time’. )n the sentence ) spoke, the word ‘spoke’ is a past form of the ver# ‘speak’, while ) will have spoken points to an action that will have #een completed sometime in the future. :Klease note that not all forms of a ver# carry this temporal meaning. The Swedish ver# system is somewhat more compleI than the "nglish. +epending on which ending a ver# takes in some tenses, it is referred to one of four groups. The fourth group consists of irregular ver#s, of which many are very common. To learn all or almost all possi#le variants of a Swedish ver# you should in theory memoriNe five forms* the infinitive, the present, the past, the supine, and the past participle; if you know these you will #e a#le to easily deduce the rest. Such memoriNing is facilitated #y the fact that most ver#s follow an overall!pattern, #ut is still a rather dreary procedure. There is an easier and more effective and entertaining way of learning the ver# forms, though* By reading Swedish teIts, newspaper articles, comic strips, and novels written in an everyday language :translations of =gatha Jhristie crime novels or love!stories #y Bar#ara Jartland or whatever you personally prefer, you will soon meet all the common ver#s 3 they are actually not that many 3 in a meaningful conteIt, you will see their function in different sentences, how they are used in idiomatic phrases, and you will not have to spend time on the numerous ver# forms that theoretically eIist #ut are rarely used. The first pages of such a #ook in Swedish may for natural reasons take some time to tackle, #ut it will not #e long #efore you will #e a#le to recogniNe and understand an amaNingly large num#er of words. (ith a #asic knowledge of the ver# system in Swedish it will #e even easier.
THE SED=SH )EA9
The infiniti/e Bnfinit3/ The infinitive is a ‘timeless’ form of the ver#, the form given in the dictionaries. )t is formed #y adding an ! a to the imperative :the main eIception to this rule is when the #asic form already ends in an !a; in such case no further ending is added. )t is often used together with the word ‘att’, which usually has the same function as the "nglish ‘to’ when it is com#ined with an infinitive* ?tt /,ra #ller Batt 3nte /,ra2 det .r fr(-"an0 *o )e or not to )e, that is the uestion.
NOTE In some cases 'n"lish &refers or reuires a (er) with the endin" +in" $e.". after &re&ositions, that is -direction/&osition- words like on#, under#, with#, to#%, where Swedish would use the infiniti(e
=Q' loo%in" forward to Bhere used as a preposition going to Stoc%hol'0 !a" ser fra' e'&t att r#sa till St&c%h&l'0 I look forward towards to "o/tra(el to Stockholm.
He has prole's LwithM getting up in the 'ornin"s0 Han har s/(-rt att %l3/a upp p( '&r"narna0 He has difficult to ste& u& on the mornin"s.
The present tense B5r#sens = ver# in the present tense is sometimes a #it carelessly descri#ed as referring to an action taking place now, #ut should more accurately #e seen as showing a continuous action or state or a series of actions that is not completed, or something which someone usually do* ) play foot#all will most likely mean that you sometimes play foot#all, or that you can or know how to play foot#all, not necessarily that you are playing foot#all at this very moment. To show that something is happening right now, "nglish, #y using an auIiliary ver# and #y adding the ending ! in" to the main ver#, has a special progressive form* ) am &layin" foot#all. )n Swedish there is strictly speaking only one form for the present that you will have to pay attention to, however, a form that almost always end in an ! r . The endings of the ver#s in the present are, to #e more specific* •
• • •
&roup 1* ! ar :or !CaEr, since the a technically speaking is a part of the stem of the ver# and not the ending &roup $= and $B* !er &roup %* !r &roup /* The ver#s in this group often 3 #ut not always 3 end in ! er and !r as well.
)t may #e comforting to know that the third group is quite small and only comprises a couple of more frequent ver#s. NOTE *he on+"oin"# $&ro"ressi(e% +in" form in 'n"lish can in Swedish often )e e=&ressed )y addin" an additional (er)
!a" sp#lar f&t&ll0 !a" h(-ller p( att sp#la f&t&ll0 I &lay foot)all. I hold on $i.e.I am )usy with% to &lay foot)all.
)i t3ttar p( t/0 )i s3tter och t3ttar p( t/0
We watch on *1. We sit and watch on *1.
Han l,"ar 'at0 Han st(r och l,"ar 'at0 He cooks food. He stands and cooks food.
Hon s&/er0 Hon l3""er och s&/er0 She slee&s/is aslee&. She lies and slee&s.
This way of showing that the action is progressive can also #e u sed in other tenses in Swedish.
The past B5ret#ritu' L'perf#%tM The past tense is used in di%erent ways in di%erent languages. &n 'erman! for instance! the perfect has assumed some of the function of the past (&ch hab’ ihn gesehen – & saw him)! in wiss 'erman has the past tense been replaced entirely by the perfect. *omance language li"e panish does not only focus on the time aspect of the +erb when forming the past! but also on whether the action is seen as demarcated and completed (pret,rito$ 'rit, – & shouted) or not completed! alternati+ely repeated (imperfecto$ 'ritaba – & was shouting! & shouted -se+eral times! & began to shout etc.). &n spo"en /rench the old preterite (pass, simple) has disappeared in fa+our of the pass, compos, (resembling the 'erman perfect)! while the imperfect tense has a similar usage as in panish. wedish! in spite of its close relationship to 'erman! uses the past tense 0ust about the same way as #nglish! howe+er.
The past is formed #y adding the ending ! de or !te to the #asic form :the imperative; the ! te ending is used after any of the voiceless consonants p, t, k, and s. :Some irregular ver#s form the past #y changing their vowel instead. !a" ,r#tade Basic for': areta h(rt fI-rra /#c%an0 I worked/was workin" hard &re(ious the week 4i.e. last week5.
!a" l.-ste Basic for': l.s en ny o% /,rje da" Gnder se'#stern0 I read a new )ook e(ery day durin" the (acation.
The supine and the past participle BSup3nu' och p#rfe%t partic3p = ha/e closed the door0 The door is closed 0
)n these two sentences the word ‘closed’ is a form of the ver# which is called the past participle. Jom#ined with the auIiliary ver# ‘have’ :as a#ove it forms the perfect tense, and with the same help ver# in the past you have the pluperfect form* ) had closed the door. ‘Kerfect’ is derived from a Fatin word for ‘complete:d, finished’, which fairly well descri#es the primary function of the perfect tense, namely to show that a certain action or state is completed in relation to the present time. The pluperfect refers to an action or state that was completed in relation to an event in the past The door was CpastE closed; he had closed CpluperfectE the door. That sounds more complicated than it is. The usage of the perfect and the pluperfect tenses is on the whole the same in "nglish and Swedish. ow, Swedish has actually two forms for the "nglish past participle* The supine and the past participle.
THE SU5=NE
The supine, which is made #y adding a ! t to the #asic form :the imperative, is always used after the auIiliary ver# ‘have’. !a" har stängt dI-rren0 I ha(e closed the door.
THE 5?ST 5?AT=C=5@E
The past participle is composed #y adding ! d , ! t , or ! dd to the #asic form :depending on the final letter. is used like an adective, and takes endings similar to the adectives* 5&sten .r stängd id,"0
(ith an en word*
*he &ost office is closed today.
?llt .r st.n"t0
(ith an ett word*
'(erythin" is closed.
(ith a word in the plural*
Till och 'ed aff.-rerna .r st.-n"da0
=fter an identifying word*
De Bdo' st.-n"da dI-rrarna
To and with :i.e. even the shops2stores are closed. *he closed doors
NOTE Some (er)s e=ist only in com&ound forms in the &ast &artici&le, often with a &re&osition $a UdirectionU word in, out, from, to etc% as a &refi=. *he meanin" of the (er) is then also many times chan"ed. See the list )elow, where the &refi=es ha(e )een &ut within suare )rackets for the sake of clarity.
The future tense B
Swedish
En"lish
1Q 3ómmer att V infiniti$e> neutral8 %pure& future [#ery om mon]
!a" %&''er att stud#ra0
I $ill tudyQ
2Q 3a (formal> 3all) V infiniti$e> future (neutral8 intention)
!a" s%a stud#ra0
"Q t?An3er V infiniti$e> ho$ing intention
!a" t.-n%er stud#ra0
'Q *resent tense> future (neutral8 intention) [#ery ommon]
!a" (-%er till St&c%h&l' n.-sta /#c%a0
The passi/e B5,ssi/
I co"e to study
I am going to tudyQ
I will study
I am going to tudyQ
I think/intend [to] study
I o to Stockhol" ne+t week
I $ill go to 7to3holm net $ee3Q
=ll the ver#s you have met so far have #een active, i.e. someone or something is doing something. )f you want to show that something is #eing done in "nglish and the person who does it is either not identified or mentioned after the word ‘#y’, you use a form of the ver# ‘#e’ together with the past participle* The car has been repaired 0 They were killed in an accident0 e ha/e not been informed y anyone0
This passive construction is very simple to make in Swedish* Zou ust add an ! s to the other endings of the ver#. The main eIception is the present tense, where the final ! r disappears #efore the ! s. 93len repar#rades Linstead of: Hon repar#rade 3lenM0 *he car was re&aired. $She re&aired the car.%
S%&lan s%a st.-n"as Linstead of: A#%torn s%a st.-n"a s%&lanM0 *he school is "oin" to )e closed. $*he headmaster is "oin" to close the school.%
Han eh,ndlas 3lla a/ sin chef Linstead of: Hans chef eh,ndlar h&no' 3l laM0 He is treated )adly )y/of his )oss. $*he )oss treats him )adly.%
)n everyday Swedish an active construction is often preferred on the eIpense of the passive* +e ska stnga skolan :They are going to close the school. )t is also very common to use a construction with the ver# ‘#li’ :#ecome instead, without any significant change in meaning* 9ilen blev reparerad0 *he car )ecame re&aired.
Han blir illa ehandlad a/ sin chef0 He )ecomes )adly treated )y/of his )oss.
There are a few ver#s, which, in spite of having this ! s form characteristic for the passive, always have an active function. Three of the most common are* • • •
fPnnas :to #e, eIist* 'inns det n9-gon mRlkU :)s there any milkU hR&&as :to hope* 4ag h5ppas det :) hope it, i.e. ) hope so. mPnnas :to remem#er* 4ag minns ?nte :) remem#er not.
Aeflei/e /ers BA#flei/a /er )n the sentence ) wash myself "nglish uses the pronoun ‘myself’ to show that the action is refleIive, that it is ) who is the o#ect of the washing. Some Swedish ver#s are likewise used together with a special pronoun, which is identical with the o#ective forms of the personal pronouns :see chapter 1, with one eIception* The refleIive pronoun for the persons ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, and ‘they’ is always ‘sig’ :in spite of its spelling pronounced like the "nglish word ‘say’. !a" t/.-ttar 'i" L'ejM0
I wash myself.
Du t/.-ttar di" LdejM0
ou 4sin"ular5 wash yourself.
Han t/.-ttar si" LsejM0
He washes himself.
Hon t/.-ttar si" LsejM0
She washes herself.
Den+det t/.-ttar si" LsejM0 It washes itself. )i t/.-ttar oss0 We wash oursel(es.
Ni t/.-ttar er0
ou 4&lural5 wash yoursel(es.
De t/.-ttar si" LsejM0
*hey wash themsel(es.
The use of ver#s with refleIive pronouns is more frequent in Swedish than in "nglish.
THE AOU5S =N SED=SH =ll the following ver#s can #e found in lists of the most common words in Swedish, #ased on the press from 1``^ and \ novels from 1`Q\3Q1, compiled #y Spr9k#anken, +epartment of Swedish, at the &Rte#org niversity :http*22logos.svenska.gu.se2l#grafsv`^.html, and 2l#graf#onnQ\.htm.
>roup 1: 8ar /ers
=nfiniti/e
='perati/e
5resent
5ast
Supine
5ast participle
5er?Atta $to% tell
,er?AttaT *ell!
5er?Attar $I% tell
5er?Attade $I% told
(har) 5er?Attat $I ha(e% told
(?r) 5er?Attad8 5er?Attat8 5er?Attade $It i/they are% told
5rL3a $to% use/culti(ate
,rL3aT 5rL3ar Vse!/Bulti(ate! $I% use to/culti(ate
5rL3ade $I% used to/culti(ated
(har) 5rL3at $I ha(e% used to/culti(ated
(?r) 5rL3ad8 5rL3at8 5rL3ade $It i/they are% used/culti(ated
5CArja $to% )e"in
,CArjaT Ee"in!
5CArjar $I% )e"in
5CArjade $I% )e"an
(har) 5CArjat $I ha(e% )e"un
(?r) [p@A]5CArjad8 [p@A]5C Arjat8 [p@A]5CArjade $It is/they are% started
fr@Aga $to% ask
:r@AgaT Dsk!
fr@Agar $I% ask
fr@Agade $I% asked
(har) fr@Agat $I ha(e% asked
(?r) [tiAll]fr@Agad8 [tiAll]fr@ Agat8 [tiAll]fr@Agade $It is/they are% asked
3lDra $to% mana"e
SlDra (a# det)T >ana"e $it%!
3lDrar $I% mana"e
3lDrade $I% mana"ed
(har) 3lDrat $I ha(e% man+ a"ed
(?r) [D#]3lDrad8 [D#]3lDrat8 [D#]3lDrade $It is/they are% taken care of
l?Amna $to% lea(e
-?Amna (den)T 7ea(e $it%!
l?Amnar $I% lea(e
l?Amnade $I% left
l(har) ?Amnat $I ha(e% left
(?r) l?Amnad8 l?Amnat8 l? Amnade $It is/they are% left
prDta $to% talk 4collouial5
rDtaT *alk!
prDtar $I% talk
prDtade $I% talked
(har) prDtat $I ha(e% talked
tDnna $to% sto&
7tDnnaT $Sto&!%
tDnnar $I% sto&
tDnnade $I% sto&&ed
(har) tDnnat $I ha(e% sto&&ed
tDlar $I% s&eak/talk
tDlade (har) tDlat $I% s&oke/talked $I ha(e% s&oken
tDla
(?r) tDnnad8 tDnnat8 tDnnade $It i/they are% sto&&ed 4rarely used; re&laced )y the re"ular (er) sto&&a# $"rou& % in the &ast &artici&le5 [tll]tDlad8 [tBll]tDlat8 [tBll]tDlade $It is/they are% ad+ dressed
tBtta $to% look
tBttar $I% look
tBttade $I% looked
(har) tBttat (?r) [Lt]tBttad8 [Lt]tBttat8 $I ha(e% looked [Lt]tBttade $It i/they ares% stared at
Lndra $to% wonder
(WndraT) Wonder!
Lndrar $I% wonder
Lndrade $I% wondered
(har) undrat $I ha(e% won+ dered
(?r) [fCr]Lndrad8 [fCr]Lndrat8 [fCr]Lndrade $It is/they are% won+ dered
#!r3a $to% seem, act
Rer3aT Seem!/Dct!
#!r3ar $I% seem, act
#!r3ade $I% seemed, acted
(har) #!r3at $I ha(e% seemed, acted
(?r) [fCr]#!r3ad8 [fCr]#!r3at8 [fCr]#!r3ade $It is/they are% for+ feited.
#Ba $to% show
RBaT Show!
#Bar $I% show
#Bade $I% showed
(har) #Bat $I ha(e% shown
(?r) #Bad8 #Bat8 #Bade $It is/they are% shown
#?Anta $to% wait
R?AntaT Wait!
#?Antar $I% wait
#?Antade $I% waited
(har) #?Antat (?r) #?Antad8 #?Antat8 #? $I ha(e% waited Antade $It is/they are% e=&ected
CAppna $to% o&en
XAppnaT J&en!
CAppnar $I% o&en
CAppnade $I% o&ened
(har) CAppnat (?r) CAppnad8 CAppnat8 C $I ha(e% o&ened Appnade $It is/they are% o&ened
='perati/e
5resent
5ast
Supine
,ehCA#T
>roup 6 ?: 8er /ers
=nfiniti/e
5ast participle
5ehCA#a $to% need
Need!
5ehCA#er $I% need
5ehCA#de $I% needed
(har) 5ehCA#t (?r) 5ehCA#d8 5ehCA#t8 $I ha(e% needed 5ehCA#da $It is/they are% needed
fCAlja $to% follow
:Clj (mig)T
fCAljer $I% follow
fCAljde $I% followed
(har) fCljt $I ha(e% fol+ lowed
(?r) fCljd8 fCljt8 fCAljda $It is/they are% followed
hCAra $to% hear
;CArT Hear!
hCAr $I% hear
hCArde $I% heard
(har) hCArt $I ha(e% heard
(?r) hCArd8 hCArt8 hCArda $It is/they are% heard
3?Anna $to% feel, $to% know 4someone5
S?AnnT
3?Anner $I% feel, know
3?Ande $I% felt, knew
(har) 3?Ant $I ha(e% felt, known
(?r) 3?And8 3?Ant8 3?Anda $It is/they are% felt, known
l!#a $to% li(e
-e#T 7i(e!
l!#er $I% li(e
l!#de $I% li(ed
(har) le#t $I ha(e% li(ed
(?r) [Lt]l!#ad8 [Lt]l!#at8 [Lt]l!#ade $It is/they are% decre&it
l?Ara [ig] $to% teach 4refle=i(e to learn5
-?r [dig]T *each 4refle=i(e 7earn5!
l?r [mig] $I% teach 4refle=i(e $I% learn5
l?Arde [mig] $I% tau"ht 4refle=i(e $I% learned5
(har) l?rt [mig] $I ha(e% tau"ht 4refle=i(e $I% ha(e learned5
(?r) l?rd8 l?rt8 l?Arda $It is/they are% tau"ht/learned
t?Alla $to% &ut
7t?ll (den d?r)T 6ut $it there%!
t?Aller $I% &ut
t?Allde $I% &ut
(har) t?llt $I ha(e% &ut
(?r) t?lld8 t?llt8 t?Allda $It is/they are% &ut
>roup 6 9: 8er /ers
=nfiniti/e
='perati/e
5resent
5ast
Supine
5ast participle
fCrCA3a $to% try
:CrCA3T *ry!
fCrCA3er $I% try
fCrCA3te $I% tried
(har) fCrCA3t $I ha(e% tried
hj?Alpa $to% hel&
;j?lpT Hel&!
hj?Alper $I% hel&
hj?Alpte $I% hel&ed
(har) hj?lpt (?r) hj?lpt8 hj?lpt8 hj? $I ha(e% hel&ed Alpta $It is/they are% hel&ed
3CApa $to% )uy
SCpT Euy!
3CAper $I% )uy
3CApte $I% )ou"ht
(har) 3Cpt (?r) 3Cpt8 3Cpt8 3CApta $I ha(e% )ou"ht $It is/they are% )ou"ht
l?Aa $to% read
-?T :ead!
l?Aer $I% read
l?Ate $I% read
(har) l?t $I ha(e% read
CA3a $to% seek
7C3T Seek!
CA3er $I% seek
CA3te $I% sou"ht
(har) C3t (?r) C3t8 C3t8 CA3ta $I ha(e% sou"ht $It is/they are% sou"ht
(?r) l?t8 l?t8 l?Ata $It is/they are% read
tH3a
tH3er tH3te (har) ty3t (?r) ómtH3t8 ómtH3t8 $I% ha(e an $I% had an $I ha(e% had an ómtH3ta o&inion $a)out o&inion $a)out o&inion $a)out It is/they are% well+ liked somethin"%, $I% somethin"%, I somethin"%, $I think thou"ht ha(e% thou"ht
t?An3a $to% think
t?An3er $I% think
t?An3te $I% thou"ht
(har) t?n3t $I ha(e% thou"ht
@A3a $to% "o
Y3T 2o!
@A3er $I% "o
@A3te $I% went
(har) @3t $I ha(e% "one
(?r) t?n3t8 t?n3t8 t?An3ta $It is/they are% thou"ht
>roup ;: 7r /ers
=nfiniti/e
='perati/e
5resent
5ast
Supine
5ast participle
5o $to% li(e in $as in reside, dwell%
,oT 7i(e!
5or $I% reside
5ódde $I% resided
(har) 5ott $I ha(e% resided
(?r) 5e5ódd8 5e5ótt8 5e5ódda $It is/they are% inha)+ ited
tro $to% )elie(e, think
tror $I% )elie(e, think
tródde $I% )elie(ed, thou"ht
(har) trott (?r) trodd8 trott8 tródda $I ha(e% )e+ $It is/they are% )elie(ed lie(ed, thou"ht
5resent
5ast
Supine
>roup K: =rre"ular /ers
=nfiniti/e
='perati/e
5ast participle
5li $to% )ecome
,liT $Eecome!%
5lir $I% )ecome
5le# $I% )ecame
(har) 5li#it $I ha(e% )e+ come
(?r) 5lB#en8 5lB#et8 5lB#na
5?Ara $to% carry
,?rT
5?r $I% carry
5ar $I% carried
(har) 5Lrit $I ha(e% carried
(?r) 5Lren8 5Lret8 5Lrna $It is/they are% carried
dra 6raT $to% draw, &ull Lraw! 6ull!
drar $I% draw, &ull
drog (har) drDgit (?r) drDgen8 drDget8 $I% drew, &ulled $I ha(e% drawn, drDgna $It is/they are% drawn, &ulled &ulled
fBnna [pai#e form8 5ut ati#e meaning] $to% e=ist, )e
finn $it% e=ists, there is/are
fann $it% e=isted, there was/were
(har) fLnnit $it has% e=isted, there has/ha(e )een
(?r) fLnnen8 fLnnet8 fLnna $It is/they are% found
fórt?Atter $I% continue
fórtDtte $I% continued
(har) fórtDtt $I ha(e% con+ tinued
(?r) fórtDtt8 fórtDtt8 fórtDtta $It is/they are% contin+ ued
f@ $to% recei(e, )e allowed to, ha(e to
f@r $I% recei(e, am allowed to, ha(e to
fi3 $I% recei(ed, was allowed to, had to
(har) f@tt $I ha(e% re+ cei(ed, ha(e )een allowed to, ha(e had to
fCrt@A :Crt@AT $to% understand Vnderstand!
fCrt@Ar $I% understand
fCrtód $I% understood
(har) fCrt@Att $I ha(e% under+ stood
(?r) fCrt@Add8 fCrt@Att8 fCrt@Adda $It is/they are% under+ stood
ge $to% "i(e
9eT 2i(e!
ger $I% "i(e
ga# $I% "a(e
(har) gett8 gB#it $I ha(e% "i(en
(?r) gB#en8 gB#et8 gB#na $It is/they are% "i(en
g@ $to% walk, lea(e
9@T Walk! 7ea(e!
g@r $I% walk, lea(e
gi3 $I% walked, left
(har) g@tt $I ha(e% walked, left
(?r) g@Angen8 g@Anget8 g@Angna $It is/they are% "one )y, &ast
gCAra $to% do, make
9CrT Lo! >ake!
gCr $I% do, make
gjórde $I% did, made
(har) gjort $I ha(e% done, made
(?r) gjord8 gjort8 gjórda $It is/they are% done, made
ha $to% ha(e
;aT Ha(e!
har $I% ha(e
hDde $I% hade
(har) haft $I ha(e% had
h@Alla $to% hold, "i(e 4a s&eech5
;@llT $Hold!%
h@Aller $I% hold
hCll $I% held
(har) h@Allit $I ha(e% hold
(?r) h@Allen8 h@Allet8 h@ Allna $It is/they are% hold, "i(en
3ómma $to% come
SomT Bome!
3ómmer $I% come
3om $I% came
(har) 3ómmit $I ha(e% come
(?r) [#?Al]3ómmen8 [#? Al]3ómmet8 [#?Al]3ómna $It is/they are% welcome
3an $I% can
3Lnde $I% could
(har) 3Lnnat $I ha(e% )een a)le to
lBgger $it% lies, is situated
l@g $it% lied, was situated
(har) l!gat $it has% )een lyin", )een situated
fórt?Atta $to% continue
:órt?AttT Bontinue!
3Lnna $to% )e a)le to lBgga $to% )e lyin" down, )e situ+ ated
-iggT 7ie $down%!
$It is/they are% )ecome 4rarely used5
(?r) [fCr]l!gad8 [fCr]l!gat8 [fCr]l!gna $It is/they are% anti+ uated