{"id":8616,"date":"2020-05-27T01:33:21","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T01:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=8616"},"modified":"2020-05-29T17:58:50","modified_gmt":"2020-05-29T17:58:50","slug":"of-by-from-the-swedish-preposition-av","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/of-by-from-the-swedish-preposition-av\/","title":{"rendered":"Of, By, From? The Swedish Preposition \u201cAv\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Att Koppla av<\/em> – to relax. Photo: Alexander Hall\/imagebank.sweden.se<\/p><\/div>\n

Prepositions are tricky parts of speech to master. I\u2019ve covered this topic before with i<\/em> and p\u00e5, <\/em>but there are plenty more for us to dissect! Attempting to translate prepositions directly from your native language into Swedish often doesn\u2019t pan out. Sometimes the preposition is the same, sometimes not, sometimes you don\u2019t even need a preposition. Today, we\u2019ll cover the Swedish preposition av<\/em>, and its various uses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The best way to master prepositions is to memorize their proper use in your target language, rather than of obsessing over the literal, word for word translation. The Swedish preposition av<\/em> can mean “by”, “off”, “from,” and “of”, and it may surprise you in its application. For example, In<\/span> English you may say,\u00a0 \u201cWe received the present<\/span> from <\/b>Henrik.\u201d English speakers think, \u201cGreat! I can use the preposition<\/span> fr\u00e5n<\/span><\/i> here!\u201d\u00a0 You could, but most often “receiving a gift” craves the preposition av<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“We received the present<\/span> from<\/b> Henrik,” becomes
\n“Vi <\/span>fick presenten <\/span><\/i>av<\/i><\/b> Henrik.”<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

So again, remember that thinking literally about these translations won\u2019t necessarily help you remember when to use them in Swedish. So it\u2019s best to memorize which contexts are best paired with av.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cof,\u201d when describing a part of a group:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

De bor i olika delar av Europa.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>They live in <\/span>different parts of Europe
\n<\/span>Ett av barnen gillar tomater.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 One of the children likes tomatoes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To identify what something is made from:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Skeden \u00e4r gjord av bj\u00f6rk.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>The spoon is made from birch.<\/span><\/p>\n

Familjen best\u00e5r av jag och mina barn.
\n<\/span><\/i>The family is made up of myself and my children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Used to connect an “agent” in a passive statement:
\n<\/b>
\n<\/span>Mumintrollen \u00e4r en bok av Tova Jansson.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Moomin<\/span> is a book by Tova Jansson. <\/span>
\n<\/span>De blev f\u00f6rf\u00f6ljda av en bil.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/i>They were followed by a car.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To identify the source of something:<\/b><\/p>\n

av gl\u00e4de\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/i>out of joy or from joy
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Pojken skrattade av gl\u00e4dje n\u00e4r han fick se sin v\u00e4n.<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>The boy laughed of joy when he got to see his friend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When paired with an adjective:
\n<\/strong>
\nintresserad av\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/i>interested in<\/span><\/p>\n

-\u00c4r du intresserad av hip hop?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-Are you interested in hip hop? <\/span>
\n<\/span>-Nej, hip hop \u00e4r inte min grej.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-No, hip hop isn\u2019t my thing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

nog av\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/i>enough of <\/span>
\n<\/span>Jag har f\u00e5tt nog av dina kommentarer.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>I\u2019ve had enough of your comments.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Av<\/i><\/b> is also commonly used as a particle to be paired with a verb.<\/b> I’ll list some examples below but first, a pronunciation tip; when you are using these verbs place emphasis on <\/span>av <\/b><\/em>when speaking. This pronunciation rule is used with all particle verbs in Swedish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Verbs with av:\u00a0<\/strong>
\n<\/span>att g\u00e5 av\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>to step off\/ get off<\/span><\/p>\n

att st\u00e4nga av \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/i>t<\/span>o turn off <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\natt sl\u00e5 av \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/i>to<\/span>\u00a0disconnect<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>att l\u00e4gga av<\/span><\/i> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>to <\/span>stop it\/quit it<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>att koppla av<\/span><\/i> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>to relax<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/i>att slappna av \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>to relax<\/span><\/p>\n

att klara av \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/i>to cope, or to manage<\/span><\/p>\n

att bli av \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>to get rid of<\/span><\/p>\n

att torka av \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i> to dry off<\/span><\/p>\n

Are there any other prepositions on your list that give you trouble? Which ones? Tell me below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Prepositions are tricky parts of speech to master. I\u2019ve covered this topic before with i and p\u00e5, but there are plenty more for us to dissect! Attempting to translate prepositions directly from your native language into Swedish often doesn\u2019t pan out. Sometimes the preposition is the same, sometimes not, sometimes you don\u2019t even need a…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":168,"featured_media":8617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,6,3079,13],"tags":[364864,125,10125,7744,364872,34680,364865],"class_list":["post-8616","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-grammar","category-swedish-language","category-vocabulary","tag-grammar","tag-prepositions","tag-swedish-blog","tag-swedish-grammar","tag-swedish-language","tag-swedish-vocabulary","tag-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8616"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8628,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8616\/revisions\/8628"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}