Lesson 6

Vocabulary - Numbers 101 - ...

(ett) hundraett [hundra'et]	101
(ett) hundratvå [hundra'två:] etc.	102
två hundra	200
två hundraett etc.	201
tre hundra etc.	300
(ett) tusen ['tu:sen]	1.000
två tusen etc.	2.000
en miljon [mil'jo:n]	1.000.000
en miljard [mil'ja:d]	1.000.000.000
en biljon [bil'jo:n]	1.000.000.000.000
en biljard [bil'ja:d]	1.000.000.000.000.000
en triljon [tril'jo:n]	1.000.000.000.000.000.000
en triljard [tril'jad]	1.000.000.000.000.000.000.000

Note: When counting we always say ett, tjogoett, hundraett etc. But if the number is followed by a noun we use the en-form.

en bil - ett fönster = one car - one window
tjogoen bilar - tjugoen fönster = 21 cars - 21 window
År nittonhundraett = In 1901

brinna (i) [*brina]	to burn
en eld -ar [eld]	fire
ta (i) [ta:]	to take
kosta (1) [*kåsta]	to cost
ett brev - [bre:v]	letter
någon(t), några [*nå:gån]	some
en gång -er [gåg]	time (four times e.g.)
tänka (2) [*tänka]	think
viktig [*viktig]	important
person [pe'so:n]	person
läsa (2) [*lä:sa]	to read

The present participle

• The present participle in English is formed by attaching -ing to the verb (a walking man). In Swedish it's almost as simple as that. You attach -nde to the infinitive of polysyllabic verbs, and -ende to the infinitive of monosyllabic verbs.

a burning fire - en brinnande eld
a walking man - en gående man

• A few monosyllabic get a slightly irregular ending. This is because the original verb was longer.

bli - blivande (The original verb was bliva and could be used today as well)
ha - havande (The original verb was hava)
ta - tagande (The original verb was taga)

• Note that the Swedish present participle can't be used as in English I am helping you or He is eating. We use the present tense instead.

I am helping you - Jag hjälper dig.
He is eating food - Han äter mat.

The past participle

The past participle is used in phrases like I am seen, an interested woman etc. As you can see, in English form used to construct the past participle is the same as the form used in the perfect tense. That is not the case in Swedish. Here we used the supine to construct the perfect tense, and that is also the only time when the supine is used - for the perfect and the past perfect. The past participle, however, is formed like this, note that it has to be inflected as an adjective:

• Group 1 verbs add -d to the stem

Älska - Älskad - Jag är älskad - Barnet är älskat. - Vi är älskade.

• Group 2 verbs whose stem ends with a voiced consonant add -d too, the others add -t.

Ring|a - Ringd
Köp|a - Köpt - Sakerna är köpta.

• Irregular polysyllabic verbs often attach -en to their supine stem. But for many verbs, you just have to memorize the form

Verb	Supine	Past participle
Skriva	- Skrivit	- Skriven - Brevet är skrivet
Komma	- Kommit	- Kommen
Se	- Sett	- Sedd - Vi är sedda

The passive form

• The passive form is used in sentences like The child is seen by the dad. The contrary is the active form, which would be The dad sees the cild. In Swedish, you can make the passive form in to ways - either by using the verb bli + past participle (inflected as an adjective):

The letter is being written by me - Brevet blir skrivet av mig
The letter was written by me - Brevet blev skrivet av mig.
The letter has been written by me - Brevet har blivit skrivet av mig.

• An easier and more frequently used way of expressing the passive form is by attaching an s to the end of the main verb:

The letter is being written by me - Brevet skrivs av mig.
The letter was written by me - Brevet skrevs av mig.
The letter has been written by me - Brevet har skrivits av mig.

Expressing the future

• Swedish has got two ways of expressing the future. The first one is komma att + infinitive, which is like the English will. The second one is ska + infinitive, which is like the English to be going to + infinitive.

Jag kommer att hjälpa dig någon gång - I will help you some time.
Vad ska vi göra idag? - What are we going to do today?

• There is a third way of expressing the future which is formed by tänka + inf. or by ämna + inf. These forms are used like the English intend to.

Jag tänker/ämnar hjälpa dig - I intend to help you

Exercise - Translate the following sentences into Swedish

1 - To be loved is very important.
2 - Whose book is read the most?
3 - This book will be written next summer.
4 - What are you going to do next spring?

How do you say these years in Swedish?

1 - 1765
2 - 1997
3 - 1588
4 - 1173
5 - 1021

Click here for answers

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