Archive for 'Grammar'
Nyårsafton Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 31, 2008
Today is nyårsafton and everybody, their mother and their dog are getting ready for some mad partying tonight. Yet, I am staying home, because jag är förkyld. Yes, I have a nasty cold, and so there’s no partying for me. I will stay at home, watch TV, and then watch fireworks, which they normally tend…
Use of Capital Letters Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 18, 2008
In my last post I mentioned that “jul” in Swedish is written with a small letter. In all fairness, in some cases it IS written with a capital. You can see it especially in advertisements and greetings. And in his comment, Luke from Sydney very aptly pointed out that it’s not only “jul” – names…
Julmarknad and “skriva ihop” Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 16, 2008
This year, because I was away, I missed our local julmarknad. No big deal, really, because it’s tiny and not all that interesting (went last year, and the year before, and the year before-before, and so on) and held only during one weekend at our local skansen-type attraction – Gammlia. Yet, the official city hall…
Swedish Verbs part 3 Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 5, 2008
Luke from Sydney had a question about verbs. He wanted to know if all Swedish verbs end in “a” – that is something I briefly touched upon in the Swedish verbs part 2 post a while back. So let’s review: No, not all Swedish verbs end in “a.” Some end in other vowels. And some…
Thanksgiving and Word Order Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it! I don’t. I did it twice in the past, because my dearly beloved demanded turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes. Turkeys are easy to come by here, our local Ica MAXI carries them. And during November you can even spot frozen cranberries, so if you’re really dedicated you…
Åka or Gå? Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 12, 2008
Today’s topic is one that confuses many Swedish learners – those pesky verbs that are deceptively similar, have pretty much the same meaning in English, yet in Swedish are used in a completely different context. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Actually, Swedish has quite a few such verb combinations. But today we’ll start with the…
Swedish Verbs, part 2 Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 23, 2008
A few posts back we started to discuss Swedish verbs, remember? And I told you that those verbs can be divided into two big groups: “ar” and “er”. I also mentioned that there is a third group and then promptly refused to say anything else about it. Oh yes, that third verb group. This is…