{"id":6097,"date":"2012-11-29T18:10:58","date_gmt":"2012-11-29T18:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=6097"},"modified":"2012-11-29T18:10:58","modified_gmt":"2012-11-29T18:10:58","slug":"using-the-construction-det-kanns-som","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/using-the-construction-det-kanns-som\/","title":{"rendered":"Using the construction “Det k\u00e4nns som …”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greetings, readers! I hope you enjoyed my previous post about G\u00f6teborg<\/a>. (If you haven’t checked it out, you’re missing a personally-filmed video!) This time around, I would like to discuss a certain construction found in the Swedish language, namely sentences that start or end with the phrase Det k\u00e4nns som<\/em> … . It is a very useful and commonly used construction, so you won’t want to miss this!<\/p>\n

To begin, I should perhaps explain what the phrase means. Det k\u00e4nns som<\/em> … can be translated to English as It feels like<\/em> … or It seems like<\/em> … . So, for example,<\/p>\n

Jag \u00e4r<\/span> inte<\/span> s\u00e4ker<\/span>, men<\/span> det k\u00e4nns som [att]<\/span> han<\/span> verkligen<\/span> vill ha<\/span> ett eget exemplar<\/span>.<\/em> – I’m<\/span> not<\/span> sure<\/span>, but<\/span> it feels like<\/span> he<\/span> really<\/span> wants<\/span> his own copy<\/span> (i.e. of a book).<\/p>\n

The att<\/em><\/span> in brackets is optional, though it is considered more ‘slangy’ to leave it out. (This construction is rather slangy to begin with, though, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that.)<\/p>\n

The k\u00e4nns<\/em><\/span> in the phrase literally means ‘feels’, though in the passive voice, perhaps better equating ‘is felt’. So, literally, you’re saying “It is felt like …”. Sure, it sounds weird in English, but it’s totally normal in Swedish!<\/p>\n

This phrase can also come at the end of the sentence, but with certain rules. First, you might notice that the adverb verkligen<\/em><\/span> in the example sentence comes before the verb vill<\/em><\/span>. This is typical word order for dependent clauses in Swedish (more information on dependent clauses here<\/a>!). When you switch the sentence around, though, what it ‘feels like’ takes on the word order typical for independent clauses – verkligen<\/em><\/span> will instead come after<\/span> vill<\/em><\/span>. Secondly, the word order of the phrase itself will have to be changed – Det k\u00e4nns som …<\/em> will become … k\u00e4nns det som<\/em>. So, here is the entire sentence reversed!<\/p>\n

Han<\/span> vill<\/span> verkligen<\/span> ha<\/span> ett eget exemplar<\/span>, k\u00e4nns det som<\/span>. Men<\/span> jag \u00e4r<\/span> inte<\/span> s\u00e4ker<\/span>.<\/em> – He<\/span> really<\/span> wants<\/span> his own copy<\/span>, it feels like<\/span>. But<\/span> I’m<\/span> not<\/span> sure<\/span>.<\/p>\n

(Note: Men jag \u00e4r inte s\u00e4ker<\/em> at the end there doesn’t have to be its own sentence – it could just as easily come after a comma (,) and be part of the sentence before it, as it was in the first example. I only wrote it as its own sentence in order to avoid confusing you after promising that the example would end the sentence with k\u00e4nns det som<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Remember this phrase in both its forms! It will come in handy, whether you’re saying it yourself or just trying to interpret. It can also come up in past-tense, in which case you would say Det k\u00e4ndes som<\/em> … or … k\u00e4ndes det som<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Have fun telling people how it feels!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greetings, readers! I hope you enjoyed my previous post about G\u00f6teborg. (If you haven’t checked it out, you’re missing a personally-filmed video!) This time around, I would like to discuss a certain construction found in the Swedish language, namely sentences that start or end with the phrase Det k\u00e4nns som … . It is a…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6,3079,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6097","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","category-swedish-language","category-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t