Learn how to give instructions and ask for favors
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Kellie: Hi everyone, and welcome back to SwedishPod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 6 - What's Wrong with your Swedish Food? Kellie here. |
| Vicky: Hej! I'm Vicky. |
| Kellie: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to give instructions and ask for favors. The conversation takes place at an outdoor picnic. |
| Vicky: It's between Annie and Kalle. |
| Kellie: The speakers are friends, so they’ll use informal Swedish. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Kalle: Annie, skulle jag kunna få en mugg? |
| Annie: Ja, absolut. Här har du. |
| Kalle: Tack. Kan du skicka saltet också? Den här kycklingen är lite smaklös. |
| Annie: Ja visst. Jag tycker den smakar bra dock. |
| Kalle: Hmm... Salladsdressingen är inte heller så god... |
| Annie: Kan du sluta klaga? |
| Kalle: Förlåt. Jag menade inte att vara oartig. |
| Annie: Förresten, skulle du vilja gå till affären där borta och köpa servetter? |
| Kalle: Ja visst. Vilka servetter vill du ha? |
| Annie: De i blommig förpackning. De brukar stå ganska undangömda, så du kanske får leta lite. Men förpackningen är mellanstor och går i rosa toner. |
| Kalle: Okej, jag är tillbaka snart. |
| Kellie: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Kalle: Annie, could I get a cup? |
| Annie: Yes, of course. Here you go. |
| Kalle: Thanks. Could you pass me the salt too? This chicken is a bit bland. |
| Annie: Yes, sure. I think it tastes good though. |
| Kalle: Hmm. This salad dressing is not so good either... |
| Annie: Could you stop complaining? |
| Kalle: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. |
| Annie: By the way, could you go to that store over there and buy napkins? |
| Kalle: Yes, sure. Which napkins do you want? |
| Annie: The ones in the floral packaging. They tend to be pretty hidden, so you might have to search a bit. But the package is medium sized and pink. |
| Kalle: Okay, I'll be back soon. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Kellie: Vicky, do Swedes like outdoor activities? |
| Vicky: Yes, you should know that a lot of families in Sweden have some kind of summer house, usually a cabin or cottage in the countryside where they can enjoy many outdoor activities. |
| Kellie: What kinds of activities? |
| Vicky: Most of these activities are types of sports and exercise, for example hiking, camping, canoeing, horse riding, skiing, and sailing. |
| Kellie: So in summer people like to spend time in the countryside…. |
| Vicky: Right, the typical way to spend a Swedish summer was and still is to spend at least some time in the countryside or on the archipelago, in Swedish, Skärgård. |
| Kellie: And what about the winter? What can you do then? |
| Vicky: In wintertime, ice-skating and skiing are very popular with both adults and young children. |
| Kellie: Sounds like fun! Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Kellie: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Vicky: mugg [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: cup |
| Vicky: mugg[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Vicky: mugg [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: Next we have.. |
| Vicky: smaklös [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: tasteless |
| Vicky: smaklös[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Vicky: smaklös [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: Next we have.. |
| Vicky: salladsdressing [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: salad dressing |
| Vicky: salladsdressing[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Vicky: salladsdressing [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: Next we have.. |
| Vicky: klaga [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: to complain |
| Vicky: klaga[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Vicky: klaga [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: Next we have.. |
| Vicky: oartig [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: rude |
| Vicky: oartig[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Vicky: oartig [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: Next we have.. |
| Vicky: förresten [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: by the way |
| Vicky: förresten[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Vicky: förresten [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: Next we have.. |
| Vicky: servett [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: napkin |
| Vicky: servett[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Vicky: servett [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: Next we have.. |
| Vicky: undangömd [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: hidden |
| Vicky: undangömd[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Vicky: undangömd [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: Next we have.. |
| Vicky: mellanstor [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: middle-sized |
| Vicky: mellanstor[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Vicky: mellanstor [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: And last.. |
| Vicky: ton [natural native speed] |
| Kellie: tone |
| Vicky: ton[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Vicky: ton [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Kellie: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Vicky: smaklös |
| Kellie: meaning "tasteless" or “bland.” |
| Vicky: This word is made up of two words, smak which means "taste" and lös which literally means "loose." When they’re put together, the meaning is "without taste." |
| Kellie: It’s used when describing food or drinks with a very mild taste, or no taste at all. It’s considered a negative comment. |
| Vicky: It can also be used to describe things such as clothes, buildings, and even behavior. |
| Kellie: Can you give us an example? |
| Vicky: Sure. For example, you can say.. De där skorna är verkligen smaklösa! |
| Kellie: ..which means "Those shoes are really tacky!" Okay, what's the next word? |
| Vicky: förresten |
| Kellie: meaning "by the way." |
| Vicky: Rest, by itself, means "whatever is left out of something" or "whatever is missing." Förresten is used when the speaker is adding new information, like something that was previously forgotten or not mentioned. |
| Kellie: What’s an example? |
| Vicky: You can say.. Förresten, vill du följa med oss på bio ikväll? |
| Kellie: .. which means "By the way, do you want to come with us to the cinema tonight?" |
| Vicky: Another Swedish phrase that’s used the same way is apropå, which would be translated as "speaking of." |
| Kellie: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Vicky: att snart vara tillbaka |
| Kellie: meaning "to be back soon." |
| Vicky: This is an almost literal translation from the English. Att means "to," snart means "soon," vara means "be," and tillbaka means "back." |
| Kellie: The meaning is the same as the English and it can be used in both formal and informal situations. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Vicky: Sure. For example, you can say.. Jag glömde min plånbok, jag ska bara springa och hämta den, jag är snart tillbaka. |
| Kellie: .. which means "I forgot my wallet. I'm just going to run and get it, I'll be back soon." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Kellie: In this lesson, you'll learn how to give instructions and ask for favors. |
| Vicky: We’ll see how to ask for favors by using modal verbs. |
| Kellie: Modal verbs are verbs that describe likelihood, ability, permission, and obligation. |
| Vicky: In Swedish these are called Hjälpverb, or “helping verbs,” in English, and they describe how an action occurs or how a state comes to be. |
| Kellie: The modal helping verbs are used together with main verbs, and they change the meaning of the main verbs. Could you give us an example? |
| Vicky: For example Jag äter, which means “I’m eating,” becomes Jag kan äta, which means “I can eat.” |
| Kellie: What are the main modal verbs in Swedish? |
| Vicky: Skall |
| Kellie: meaning “shall,” |
| Vicky:Böra |
| Kellie: meaning “should,” |
| Vicky:Kunna |
| Kellie: meaning “can,” |
| Vicky:Vilja |
| Kellie: meaning “to want,” |
| Vicky:Få |
| Kellie: meaning “to get,” |
| Vicky:Måste |
| Kellie: meaning “have to.” Are there any examples of these verbs in the dialogue? |
| Vicky: Yes, for example Skulle jag kunna få en mugg? |
| Kellie: meaning “Could I get a cup?” |
| Vicky: Another one is Kan du skicka saltet också? |
| Kellie: which means “Could you pass me the salt, too?” Modal verb grammar can be confusing at times. In this lesson, we'll take a look at some of the more difficult aspects of grammar related to modal verbs. |
| Vicky: As we already mentioned, modal helping verbs are used together with a main verb, and the modal verb changes the meaning of the main verb. |
| Kellie: Let’s give an example. |
| Vicky: For example, the sentence Hon följer med oss till festen. |
| Kellie: meaning “She’s coming with us to the party.” |
| Vicky: ...can change into Hon borde följa med oss till festen. |
| Kellie: which means “She should come with us to the party." Modal verb grammar can become a bit confusing when looking at the verbs that follow the modal verb itself. |
| Vicky: Usually modal verbs' grammar dictates that modal verbs are followed by the base form of the verb in the present or future moment. However, modal verbs can also be used with other forms of verbs. |
| Kellie: What’s an example? |
| Vicky: The most common of these grammar forms is the use of the modal plus a perfect form to refer to the past when using a modal verb of probability. For example, Hon måste ha köpt det där huset, |
| Kellie: which means "She must have bought that house." |
| Vicky: Here is another example Tim kan inte ha trott på hennes historia. |
| Kellie: This means "Tim can't have believed her story." Ok, let’s now have a closer look to two of the main modal verbs in Swedish. |
| Vicky: The first is Böra, which is commonly used when asking for or giving advice. |
| Kellie: It translates as “should”, “ought to,” and “had better.” |
| Vicky: Böra is, however, different from the Swedish måste which means “have to.” Måste is used when there is no choice. Be careful that you don’t mix them up, listeners! |
| Kellie: Can you give us the same example using each of them? |
| Vicky: Sure, for example, listen to how Jag måste dammsuga is different than Jag borde dammsuga. |
| Kellie: The first is “I have to vacuum”, the second “I ought to vacuum.” Okay, which other helping verb will we be looking into? |
| Vicky: The second helping verb is vilja, which corresponds to the English "want." It can also be found as skulle vilja, corresponding to the English "would like." As with the English “would like,” using skulle vilja to express a wish is considered more polite than using vill, which means “want.” Skulle vilja is more of a request than vill, which has a more demanding tone. |
| Kellie: Can you give the same example using each of them? |
| Vicky: Sure, for example, Jag vill följa med er, is different than Jag skulle vilja följa med er. |
| Kellie: The first means “I want to come with you,” and the second is “I would like to come with you.” Okay, let’s finish up this lesson with a couple of sample sentences. |
| Vicky: Skulle du kunna hjälpa mig bära de här kassarna? |
| Kellie: "Could you help me carry these bags?" |
| Vicky: Du får inte köra bil utan dina glasögon. |
| Kellie: "You aren't allowed to drive a car without your glasses." |
Outro |
| Kellie: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Vicky: Bye! |
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