Archive for 'Grammar'
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…
Building Particle Verbs with Gå Posted by Chelsea B on Dec 11, 2020
Verbs start out as just one word like in the example “Speak.” But when they add a particle “Speak” + “up” = “Speak up” the meaning changes completely. The short words that help transform regular old verbs into particle verbs, or phrasal verbs, are common prepositions or adverbs – so you’ll recognize them! Words like…
Good, Better, Bäst! Comparing Adjectives – The Irregulars Posted by Chelsea B on Aug 14, 2020
Two posts ago, I covered comparative adjectives – happy, happier, happiest, remember? This essential grammar concept allows you to mention your younger cousin, older sister, or the best ice cream place in town. This week we’ll move to the irregular adjectives in their comparative form, but don’t worry, there are patterns here, too! Okej, nu…
Happy, Happier, Happiest – Comparing Adjectives in Swedish Posted by Chelsea B on Jul 31, 2020
Glad, gladare, gladast! Happy, happier, happiest! The endings for comparative and superlative follow a pattern in Swedish, it’s pretty straightforward, hurra! I’ll introduce some of the regular adjectives this week, and cover the irregular bunch in two weeks. This post was inspired by a reader’s comment on a blog a few weeks back. I love…
Even Spicier… Bisatser with Adverbs! Posted by Chelsea B on Jul 24, 2020
Last week I covered dependent clauses, or bisatser, and some common words to know when using presenting a bisats. So, have you practiced?! Vad bra, we’re going to do bisatser 201 now. Specifically, what to do when adding an adverb into your bisats. I mentioned last week that bisatser consist of an intro word (bisatsinledare)…
Swedish Preposition Breakdown: OM Posted by Chelsea B on Jul 1, 2020
“Om.” No, today we’re not going to discuss the sacred Sanskrit mantra chanted in prayer or yoga… but I’ll guarantee that mastering your prepositions will lead to more balance in your Swedish speaking. Meaning “about”, “if”, “in” and also used as a particle when paired with verbs, this little tricky word is everywhere, so let’s…