Lesson 2

Vocabulary

och [ok]	and
inte [*inte]	not
Sverige ['sverje]	Sweden
här [hä:r]	here
där [dä:r]	there
nu [nu:]	now
idag [i'da:g]	today
lite [*li:te]	a little
bara [*ba:ra]	only / just
mycket [*myke(t)]	a lot
svenska [*svenska]	Swedish
England ['egland]	England
engelska ['egelska]	English
Hur står det till? [hu:r stå:r de til]	How do you do?
pengar ['pegar]	money
eller ['eler]	or

Nouns 2

In English, German and French e.g., the definite form of a noun is constructed by a definite article. The definit form of the noun table for example, is obtained by adding the - the table, German - Der Tisch, French - La table etc.

In Swedish, the definite form is obtained by attaching a suffix (ending) to the noun. The suffixes are -(e)n for common genders and -(e)t for neuters. The e is often dropped when the noun ends in a vowel.

Example:

The noun	sg. indefinite	sg. definite
book	en bok	boken
girl	en flicka	flickan
boy	en pojke	pojken
rose	en ros	rosen
house	ett hus	huset
table	bord	bordet
eye	öga	ögat

• As you can see, you drop the e if the noun ends with a vowel. The same as to common gender nouns ending with an unstressed -r or -l.

Example:

en 'djungel - djungeln
en 'doktor - doktorn

• Some neuters ending with an unstressed -er or -el drop their e preceding the r or t.

Example:

ett 'fönster - fönstret
ett 'kapitel - kapitlet (meaning chapter)

• Some nouns double their last consonant so as to keep their pronunciation.

Example:

ett rum - rummet

I will write the full forms when we come across a noun that differs from the rule.

Pronunciation

Nouns normally keep their stress in the definite form.

Example:

*flicka - *flickan
ho'tell - ho'tellet
'bok - 'boken

Some more nouns

ett hus [hu:s]	house
en teve [*te:ve]	television
mat (c.g.) [ma:t]	food
vatten (neu.) ['vaten]	water
ett land [land]	country
en stad [sta:d]	city
en affär [a'fä:r]	shop
en station [sta'son]	station
ett huvud [*hu:vud]	head
en arm [arm]	arm
ett ben [be:n]	leg / bone
en bil [bi:l]	car
en båt [bå:t]	boat
ett tåg [tå:g]	train
ett flygplan [*fly:gpla:n]	plane

 Some prepositions

på [på:]	on
i [i:]	in
från [frå:n]	from
av [a:v]	of / by
om [åm]	about
till [til]	to
med [me:d]	with

Some more verbs

gå (i) [gå:]	to go
göra (i) [*jö:ra] present tense gör	to do / to make
bo (2) [bo:]	to live
ligga (i) [*liga]	to lie, be situated
det finns (i) [de: fins] (present tense)	there is / are
svänga (2) [*sväga]	to turn
förstå (i) [fö'stå:]	to understand

Forming questions

In English, you often form a question by rewriting with do. That is NOT possible in Swedish. Instead, you reverse the word order (as in English Are you fine?). Often you use a question word as well.
 

Question words

vem [vem] vilka ['vi(l)ka]	who (sing.) who (plur.)
vad [va:d]	what
var [va:r]	where
vart [vat]	where (to)
hur [hu:r]	how
vilken / vilket ['vi(l)ken] / ['vi(l)ket]	what / which
varifrån [va:ri'frå:n]	where...from
varför ['varfö:r]	why

Examples:

Varifrån är du?	Where are you from?
Vad heter hon?	What is her name?
Vem är du?	Who are you?
Vilka är de?	Who are they?
Var bor du?	Where do you live?
Vart går du?	Where are you going (to)?
Varför gör vi så?	Why do we do like that?
Vilket land bor ni i?	What country do you live in?
Vilken stad bor ni i?	What city do you live in?
Köper du bollen?	Do you buy the ball?

 Exercise - Translate the following sentences into Swedish

Are you from Sweden?
Does he love food?.
Where is the house situated?
How do I go to the station?
Is there a shop here?
I am from England.


Click here for answers

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