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Learn Hardcore Swedish: Polisstationen är öppen nu. - The police station is open now.

Hardcore Swedish
/Reporting a burglary to the police
/Polisstationen är öppen nu.

Polisstationen är öppen nu.

Polisstationen är öppen nu.

The police station is open now.

Breakdown of Polisstationen är öppen nu.

the police station

Questions & Answers about Polisstationen är öppen nu.

Why is polisstationen written as one word, and what does the ending -en do?

Swedish usually writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

polis = police
station = station
polisstation = police station

Then Swedish adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

So:

polisstation = a police station
polisstationen = the police station

That final -en is the definite ending.

Is polisstation an en word or an ett word?

It is an en word:

en polisstation
polisstationen

A useful rule is that compound nouns normally take their gender from the last part. Since station is en station, polisstation is also an en word.

Why is öppen after är instead of before the noun?

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Here, öppen is not directly attached to the noun. It comes after är and describes the subject through the verb to be.

This is called a predicative adjective.

So:

Polisstationen är öppen. = The police station is open.

If you want the adjective directly before the noun, that is a different structure:

en öppen polisstation = an open police station
den öppna polisstationen = the open police station

So the sentence uses the normal pattern:

subject + är + adjective + nu

Why is it öppen, not öppet or öppna?

Because the adjective has to agree with the noun.

Polisstationen is:

singular
common gender
an en word

So the correct predicative form is öppen.

Compare:

en word singular: Stationen är öppen
ett word singular: Huset är öppet
plural: Butikerna är öppna

A very important detail: even though polisstationen is definite, the predicative adjective is still öppen, not öppna.

Is öppen an adjective or a verb here?

It is an adjective here.

The verb to open is öppna.

Compare:

Polisstationen är öppen. = The police station is open.
Here öppen describes a state.
De öppnar polisstationen. = They are opening the police station.
Here öppnar is the verb.

So in your sentence, är is the verb, and öppen is the adjective.

What exactly is är?

Är is the present tense of vara, which means to be.

So:

vara = to be
är = am / is / are

Examples:

Jag är = I am
Du är = you are
Polisstationen är = the police station is

It is an irregular verb, so learners usually just memorize it early.

Can nu go somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. Nu often means now and can move, depending on emphasis.

Your sentence:

Polisstationen är öppen nu.

This is natural and neutral.

You can also say:

Nu är polisstationen öppen.

That puts more focus on now.

But if nu comes first, Swedish keeps the verb in second position, so:

correct: Nu är polisstationen öppen
not correct: Nu polisstationen är öppen

This is part of the Swedish V2 word order rule.

How would I make this sentence negative?

You add inte:

Polisstationen är inte öppen nu.

In a main clause, inte usually comes after the finite verb, so:

är inte

That is the normal pattern:

subject + finite verb + inte + adjective + nu

So:

Polisstationen är öppen nu.
Polisstationen är inte öppen nu.

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