Learn how to use the present tense and to talk about nationalities
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| 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
Hide