Archive for 'Grammar'
5 Irregular Swedish Verbs You Need to Master Posted by Chelsea B on Nov 19, 2021
A student recently reminded me how difficult it is to memorize irregular verbs in your foreign language. Well actually, she said, “Swedish irregular verbs are the worst.” Att vara, att se, att göra, to name a few, are among the most common words used in daily Swedish. Just as language learning is a balance of…
Choosing Between Swedish “Because Phrases” Posted by Chelsea B on Aug 13, 2021
How do you say “because” in Swedish? Lots of ways! But what is the difference between darför, för att, eftersom, and för? While they all have similar meanings, they differ in application slightly. The primary difference is the sentence structure that accompanies them. Put your grammar caps on, let’s get nitty-gritty with “because phrases”! Varför…
Navigating Between Swedish Past and Perfect Tense Posted by Chelsea B on Jul 16, 2021
Memorizing and conjugating Swedish verbs needs to be more than just busywork. Learning how to use one tense over another is more important. To illustrate this point, we’re going to navigate the difference between the preteritum (past) and perfekt (perfect) tenses, and then how to use them together. So grab your favorite verb chart and…
Corona Pups: Swedish Dog Vocabulary Posted by Chelsea B on Jul 9, 2021
Did you adopt a furry friend to keep you company during quarantine from COVID-19? You’re not alone. On average, Swedes registered 1,000 more dogs monthly compared to pre-pandemic. If you are a relatively new hundägare (dog owner), chances are you have been practicing commands while creating routines and boundaries for your newest family member. With…
Swedish Verb Roulette Featuring “201 Swedish Verbs” Posted by Chelsea B on May 21, 2021
“There’s this super amazing book… I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but it’s called ‘201 Swedish Verbs’ and it’s really great!” Numerous times have these left the peppy lips of my Swedish students. And if you’ve done any searching for Swedish reference material, you’ve most definitely seen this title – many of you…
11 Swedish Slang Words and Their Meanings Posted by Chelsea B on Apr 23, 2021
Mastering slang in your foreign language is not always smooth sailing. Use it well and you’ll impress native speakers. Use a word incorrectly and you risk being misunderstood, or maybe even embarrassing yourself a little bit… but wouldn’t you say that also just comes with the territory of navigating the deep waters of language learning?…
Phrasal Verbs with ställa, säga, sätta Posted by Chelsea B on Mar 19, 2021
Mastering Swedish phrasal verbs is a crucial step in advancing beyond the basics. These verbs adapt their meaning with the addition of a participle, preposition, or adverb. It’s the difference between “to put” and “to cancel” or “to say” and “to quit,” the point being that the second verb in each of those sets varies…