Learn how to use the present tense and to talk about nationalities
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Jasmine: Hej och god morgon. My name is Jasmine. |
| Morten: Hej, allihopa and good morning. This is Morten. Välkomna! Welcome to SwedishPod101.com Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 2 - Introducing Yourself with Common Swedish Verbs. And again, I'm here with Jasmine. |
| Jasmine: Yes and we have some exciting new stuff to learn in this lesson. |
| Morten: Indeed. Now we will look at common verbs and introductions and how to ask people where they're from and where they live. |
| Jasmine: This conversation takes place at a party for international and Swedish students. |
| Morten: Our main characters are once again James and Anders. |
| Jasmine: The party is attended by lots of people, mostly students. It's a pretty informal setting. Let's listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| (Informal) |
| Anders: Hej, James, hur är det? |
| James: Bra, tack. |
| Anders: James, varifrån kommer du? |
| James: Jag kommer från England. Och varifrån i Sverige kommer du? |
| Anders: Jag kommer från Linköping. Var i Göteborg bor du? |
| James: Jag bor i Kallebäck och du? |
| Anders: Jag bor i stan, nära till universitetet. Jag bor i en tvåa med min tjej. Hur bor du? |
| James: Jag bor på hotell just nu. Ursäkta, Anders, men jag måste till bussen nu. |
| Anders: Okej, vi ses, hejdå. |
| James: Vi ses. |
| Morten: And now, the slow version. |
| Jasmine: Och nu den sakta versionen. |
| (Informal) |
| Anders: Hej, James, hur är det? |
| James: Bra, tack. |
| Anders: James, varifrån kommer du? |
| James: Jag kommer från England. Och varifrån i Sverige kommer du? |
| Anders: Jag kommer från Linköping. Var i Göteborg bor du? |
| James: Jag bor i Kallebäck och du? |
| Anders: Jag bor i stan, nära till universitetet. Jag bor i en tvåa med min tjej. Hur bor du? |
| James: Jag bor på hotell just nu. Ursäkta, Anders, men jag måste till bussen nu. |
| Anders: Okej, vi ses, hejdå. |
| James: Vi ses. |
| Morten: And now with the English translation. |
| Jasmine: Och nu med den engelska översättningen. |
| (Informal) |
| Anders: Hej, James, hur är det? |
| Morten: Hi James, how are you? |
| James: Bra, tack. |
| Morten: Fine, thanks. |
| Anders: James, varifrån kommer du? |
| Morten: James, where are you from? |
| James: Jag kommer från England. Och varifrån i Sverige kommer du? |
| Morten: I am from England. And where in Sweden are you from? |
| Anders: Jag kommer från Linköping. Var i Göteborg bor du? |
| Morten: I am from Linköping. Where in Gothenburg do you live? |
| James: Jag bor i Kallebäck och du? |
| Morten: I live in Kallebäck. How about you? |
| Anders: Jag bor i stan, nära till universitetet. Jag bor i en tvåa med min tjej. Hur bor du? |
| Morten: I live in town, close to the university. I live in a two-bedroom flat with my girlfriend. And where do you live? |
| James: Jag bor på hotell just nu. Ursäkta, Anders, men jag måste till bussen nu. |
| Morten: I live in a hotel for now. I am sorry, Anders, but I have to catch the bus now. |
| Anders: Okej, vi ses, hejdå. |
| Morten: OK, see you, bye. |
| James: Vi ses. |
| Morten: See you. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Morten: So this is a typical party situation? |
| Jasmine: Yes, that's right. |
| Morten: Are there any special gestures people in Sweden use when they meet? |
| Jasmine: Yes, there are a few. Shaking hands is still big in Sweden. |
| Morten: Are handshakes a traditional gesture? |
| Jasmine: Just det, that's right. Handshakes are more traditional, but still used a lot not only when meeting for the first time. |
| Morten: Interesting. So a handshake is always appropriate? |
| Jasmine: You could say that. |
| Morten: And are there any other gestures of greeting? |
| Jasmine: Well, we usually hug. But sometimes you see a kiss on the cheek, a nod or simply a raised hand. |
| Morten: How do I know which gestures to use? |
| Jasmine: Well, I suggest you go with the flow. Watch what people are doing where you are and behave just like them. |
| Morten: Watch, learn and imitate. Is that what you're saying? |
| Jasmine: Exactly. It's always okay to shake hands, but why not check out what other people around you are doing? |
| Morten: Excellent, thank you. Tack. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Morten: Now, you know how to behave at a casual and social occasion in Sweden, let's move on to the vocabulary. First we have? |
| Jasmine: Ursäkta [natural native speed] |
| Morten: I'm sorry. |
| Jasmine: Ursäkta [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Ursäkta [natural native speed] |
| Morten: And next. |
| Jasmine: Jag kommer från... [natural native speed] |
| Morten: I am from... |
| Jasmine: Jag kommer från... [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Jag kommer från... [natural native speed] |
| Morten: And next we have. |
| Jasmine: Kommer (komma) [natural native speed] |
| Morten: To come. |
| Jasmine: Kommer (komma) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Kommer (komma) [natural native speed] |
| Morten: And next. |
| Jasmine: Bor (bo) [natural native speed] |
| Morten: To live. |
| Jasmine: Bor (bo) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Bor (bo) [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Next we have. |
| Jasmine: Varifrån kommer du? [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Where are you from? |
| Jasmine: Varifrån kommer du? [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Varifrån kommer du? [natural native speed] |
| Morten: And next. |
| Jasmine: Var bor du? [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Where do you live? |
| Jasmine: Var bor du? [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Var bor du? [natural native speed] |
| Morten: And next, we have. |
| Jasmine: Jag bor i... [natural native speed] |
| Morten: I live in... |
| Jasmine: Jag bor i... [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Jag bor i... [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Next, we have. |
| Jasmine: Hur bor du? [natural native speed] |
| Morten: How do you live? |
| Jasmine: Hur bor du? [slowly - broken down by syllable].Hur bor du? [natural native speed] |
| Morten: And finally we have. |
| Jasmine: Och du? [natural native speed] |
| Morten: And you? |
| Jasmine: Och du? [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Och du? [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Morten: Let's have a closer look at the vocabulary and phrases from this lesson. For this lesson, we have picked very frequent phrases, ones that you will come across all the time in Sweden. |
| Jasmine: That's right. First up, we'll take some phrases from the dialogue for where you are from and where you live. |
| Morten: Then we'll at two very short but very useful phrases. So let's get started. |
| Jasmine: Here's how to ask where someone is from, Varifrån kommer du? |
| Morten: And that literally means, where are from, right? |
| Jasmine: Yes, it does. |
| Morten: And then you respond with? |
| Jasmine: Jag kommer från Stockholm or Jag kommer från England. |
| Morten: So this is the phrase used when asking for people's origins, isn't that right. |
| Jasmine: Just det, exactly. |
| Morten: But how can I ask where someone lives now? |
| Jasmine: Var bor du? Where do you live? |
| Morten: In the dialogue we used a slightly differently phrase, didn't we? |
| Jasmine: Ja, just det. That phrase was "Hur bor du?" - "How do you live?". |
| Morten: That's asking about the type of accommodation, right? |
| Jasmine: Yes, this phrase is perhaps slightly less common. |
| Morten: I know that Swedes love to talk about their homes. |
| Jasmine: Yes. And in that context the phrase does play an important part. |
| Morten: So the reply would be something like "Jag bor i en lägenhet" or "Jag bor i stan". |
| Jasmine: Ja, just det. I live in a flat. I live in town. |
| Morten: Okay, next stop. |
| Jasmine: A little "add on Och du?" |
| Morten: As in "Jag bor i stan, och du?" |
| Jasmine: Just det. I live in town. How about you? |
| Morten: This "och du" can added to just about any statement can't it? |
| Jasmine: Yes, it's a small but powerful phrase. |
| Morten: Brilliant and finally we have one way to say sorry in Swedish. |
| Jasmine: Yes, it's what you would use when squeezing pass people on the bus. |
| Morten: It's not a big apology. It's more like the word "sorry" in English. |
| Jasmine: Exactly, but as in our dialogue, you can also use it when apologizing for having to leave or something like that. |
| Morten: Ursäkta men jag måste gå nu. Sorry I have to leave now. |
| Jasmine: That's one example. |
| Morten: But would you encourage our listeners to use it freely? |
| Jasmine: By all means. It's a very good word to use and will help you blend in. |
| Morten: Thanks so much for the tips, tack. Okay, let's move on to the grammar section. |
Lesson focus |
| Morten: In this lesson focus, we're going to look at some more verbs in the present tense. |
| Jasmine: One important point here is that Swedish does not change verb form according to person or number, I, we, you, he, she, it, they, the same verb works for all. |
| Morten: You remember that from last lesson, don't you? |
| Jasmine: Exactly. Swedish verbs don't even have a special third person singular form the way English does. |
| Morten: Could you show us how verb doesn't change? |
| Jasmine: Jag kommer, du kommer, han kommer, hon kommer, vi kommer. |
| Morten: Fascinating. And this is true for auxiliary verbs as well isn't it? |
| Jasmine: Yes, the Swedish verbs for "to be" and "to have", have only one form a piece. |
| Morten: We saw "är" here on our dialogue. That's the verb "vara" or "to be" in English right? |
| Jasmine: Exactly. Just memorize and off you go using this very common verb. |
| Morten: And we have two more verbs to introduce in this lesson. |
| Jasmine: Right. They are "bor", |
| Morten: To live. |
| Jasmine: och kommer |
| Morten: To come. kommer behaves just like heter in lesson 1. |
| Jasmine: The infinitive has an A at the end. Replace it with ER and we get "kommer". |
| Morten: So here is a sample sentence. |
| Jasmine: Jag kommer från Australien. |
| Morten: I am from Australia. Listeners, please repeat the sentence. |
| Jasmine: Jag kommer från Australien [pause]. |
| Morten: Excellent, thank you. Next, please say you're from London. |
| Jasmine: Listen and repeat after me, Jag kommer från London [pause] |
| Morten: That's right, Jag kommer från London. And I can use this for whatever place I come from, right? |
| Jasmine: Exactly. |
| Morten: And the pronunciation is still easy, just a stress from the first syllable and that's it. |
| Jasmine: Yes, kom-mer, an initial stress and then it flattens out. |
| Morten: So there are irregular verbs like är, normal ones like heter and kommer. |
| Jasmine: And we have some short ones that just add an R to their infinitive to make the present tense. |
| Morten: Like the Swedish for, to live. |
| Jasmine: Jag bor i Sverige. |
| Morten: I live in Sweden. Listeners, please listen and repeat. |
| Jasmine: Jag bor i England. |
| Morten: Very good. I live in England. And how do you ask again how someone lives? |
| Jasmine: Here's a clue. How is hur in Swedish. |
| Morten: Okay, so what's the answer Jasmine? |
| Jasmine: Hur bor du? |
| Morten: How do you live? So let's repeat a bit. Where do you live was? |
| Jasmine: Var bor du? |
| Morten: And how do you live was? |
| Jasmine: Hur bor du? excellent. |
| Morten: Let's do some more recap. You want to say you live in Sweden [pause]. |
| Jasmine: Jag bor i Sverige, that's right. |
| Morten: Or you want to ask where someone lives? [pause]. |
| Jasmine: Var bor du? |
| Morten: Tremendous effort, everyone. |
| Jasmine: Want a free way to build your Swedish vocabulary? |
| Morten: Follow our Swedish word of the day at SwedishPod101.com. |
| Jasmine: See and hear the word of the day. |
| Morten: Plus sample phrases and sentences. |
| Jasmine: Get this daily vocabulary alerts on Facebook, Twitter and the SwedishPod101.com blog. |
| Morten: And add this widget to your own website or blog. They're available in 35 languages. |
| Jasmine: Get these easy instructions at SwedishPod101.com/Swedish-phrases. |
| Morten: Thank you very much, tack, tack. |
| Jasmine: Tack så mycket |
Comments
HideSwedishPod101.com listener, varifrån kommer du?
Hej Lori!
Tack för ditt meddelande! 😊 Du gör ett fantastiskt jobb med att introducera dig själv på svenska. Här är några små korrigeringar för att hjälpa dig:
1. "allihoppas" bör vara "allihopa".
- "Hej allihopa!" betyder "Hi everyone!" på engelska.
2. "Jag bör i New York City." bör vara "Jag bor i New York City."
- "Jag bor" betyder "I live" på engelska.
3. "Trevlig ätt träffas" bör vara "Trevligt att träffas."
- "Trevligt att träffas" betyder "Nice to meet you" på engelska.
Du är verkligen på rätt väg, och vi är här för att hjälpa dig! Fortsätt så! 🌟
Let us know if you have any questions.
Tack!
Team SwedishPod101.com
Hej allihoppas! Jag kommer från USA. Jag bör i New York City. Trevlig ätt träffas 😁
Hej Harry!
How nice to hear that you're from London! 😄 To answer your question, do you perhaps mean "Hur mår du?" (How are you?) instead of "Hur bor du?" (How do you live?). "Hur mår du?" is a common phrase for asking how someone is doing.
Great job with your Swedish, and keep practicing! If you have any questions, let us know.
Thank you so much!
Tack så mycket!
Team SwedishPod101.com
Hej Chang!
Det låter fantastiskt att du bor i Stockholm! 😄 (It sounds fantastic that you live in Stockholm!) Tack för att du delar med dig. (Thank you for sharing.)
Om du har några frågor, låt oss veta. (If you have any questions, let us know.) Ha en bra dag! (Have a great day!)
Tack!
Team SwedishPod101.com
Hej allihopa, Jag kommer från London😄 Hur bor du_
Jag kommer från Kina. Jag bor i stockholm.😄
Hej Hemant,
Tack för din kommentar! Vad trevligt. Tycker du om att bo i Australien? 😁
(Thanks for your comment! How nice. Do you like living in Australia? 😁)
Vicky
Team SwedishPod101.com
Jag kommer från Australia. Jag bor i Sydney.
Hej Hafeez,
Jättebra! Bor du i Malaysia? Jag kommer från Sverige och bor i Sverige just nu. 😄👍
(Great! Do you live in Malaysia? I am from Sweden and I live in Sweden rigth now. 😄👍)
Vicky
Team SwedishPod101.com
Hejsan allihopa,
jag kommer från Malaysia. Varifrån kommer du?
Hello Henrique,
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Ali
Team SwedishPod101.com
this is so bad, to learn a new language i need to pay like everything here, horrible if you dont want to spend money.
Hej Ektor,
God eftermiddag! 😁 Vad trevligt. Tycker du om att bo där?
(Good afternoon! 😁 How nice. Do you like living there?)
Vicky
Team SwedishPod101.com
God eftermiddag,
Jag bor i Bridgetown. Och var i Bridgetown bor jag? I stan, nara till universitetet,i en tva. .
Hej Ihor,
Trevligt att träffa dig också! Vad bra att du övar på det du lär dig. 😁👍 Säg till om du har några frågor!
(Nice to meet you too! How good that you're practicing what you're learning. 😁👍 Let me know if you have questions!)
Vicky
Team SwedishPod101.com
Hej, jag kommer från Ukraina. Trevligt att träffas
Hej Vy,
Jag kommer från Sverige och jag bor i Stockholm. Trevligt att träffa dig också. 😄 Det är jättebra att du tränar på det du lär dig! 👍
(I'm from Sweden and I live in Stockholm. Nice to meet you too. 😄 It's great that you're practicing what you are learning! 👍)
Vicky
Team SwedishPod101.com
Hej jag heter Vy, jag kommer från VietNam och jag bor i stan. Trevligt att träffas
Och du ?
Varifrån kommer du ?
Hej Burger,
Vilket land kommer du från?😁
(What country are you from? 😁)
Vicky
Team SwedishPod101.com
Hej