Learn about Swedish sentence structure
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: How are sentences structured In Swedish? |
| Jesper: And are the rules rigid? |
| Michael: At SwedishClass101.com, we hear these questions often. |
| In the following situation, Ben Lee, a foreign-exchange student, is walking through central Stockholm with his friend, Sandra Strom. Ben sees someone that he thinks is a famous Swedish singer, and he says to Sandra, "I know him, it's Håkan Hellström." |
| Ben Lee: Jag känner igen honom, det är Håkan Hellström. |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: Jag känner igen honom, det är Håkan Hellström. |
| Sandra Strom: Honom känner jag också igen. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: Jag känner igen honom, det är Håkan Hellström. |
| Michael: "I know him, it's Håkan Hellström." |
| Sandra Strom: Honom känner jag också igen. |
| Michael: "I know him too." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In the conversation, Ben says that he recognizes a famous Swedish singer. In English, Sandra's agreeing statement, "I know him too," differs from Ben's statement only by one additional word, "too," or |
| Jesper: också |
| Michael: The word order, however, remains the same in English. What about Swedish? Ben says, "I know him," |
| Jesper: Jag känner igenom honom, |
| Michael: Sandra answers, if translated word-by-word, "him know I too," |
| Jesper: Honom känner jag också igen. |
| Michael: Why is that? While Swedish usually follows the S-V-O, or the Subject-Verb-Object order, sentence structure doesn't need to be observed as strictly as in English and is relatively flexible. In this example, the structure changes form S-V-O to O-V-S, object-verb-subject. So, in Sandra's sentence, she is able to start off with the object, |
| Jesper: honom |
| Michael: continue with the verb, "know," |
| Jesper: känner; |
| Michael: followed by the subject, |
| Jesper: jag |
| Michael: before adding the adverb, "too," |
| Jesper: också. |
| Michael: The Swedish sentence structure is indeed pretty flexible, isn't it? Thus, although the subject-verb-object structure is dominant in Swedish, the words can be moved around rather freely. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review what we heard in this lesson. I will say the target sentence in English, and then you should respond by saying the sentence out loud in Swedish. Jesper will then model the correct answer. Listen to him carefully, with the focus on pronunciation, and then repeat. |
| The first sentence is "I know him, it's Håkan Hellström." |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Jesper: Jag känner igen honom, det är Håkan Hellström. |
| Michael: Did you get it right? Listen to Jesper again, and repeat. |
| Jesper: Jag känner igen honom, det är Håkan Hellström. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Jesper: Jag känner igen honom, det är Håkan Hellström. |
| Michael: The second sentence is "I know him too." |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Jesper: Honom känner jag också igen. |
| Michael: How did you do this time? Again, listen to Jesper and repeat. |
| Jesper: Honom känner jag också igen. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Jesper: Honom känner jag också igen. |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Now, do you remember which Swedish singer Ben and Sandra recognized on the street? He's called... |
| Jesper: Håkan Hellström, |
| Michael: and he is one of the biggest musical stars in Sweden. |
| Jesper: His hometown is Ullevi in Gothenburg, or Göteborg, |
| Michael: as Swedes say, and has been called "Gothenburg's Springsteen." |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Jesper: Vi ses! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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