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Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hunden går i koppel. - The dog walks on a leash.

Hardcore Swedish
/Taking a pet to the veterinarian
/Hunden går i koppel.

Hunden går i koppel.

Word

Hunden går i koppel.

Meaning

The dog walks on a leash.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Swedish

Lesson

Taking a pet to the veterinarian

Breakdown of Hunden går i koppel.

Questions & Answers about Hunden går i koppel.

Why is it hunden and not hund?

Hund means dog, while hunden means the dog.

In Swedish, the definite article is often added as an ending:

en hund = a dog
hunden = the dog

Since hund is an en-word, its definite singular form ends in -en.

What does går mean here?

Går is the present tense of gå.

The basic meaning of gå is go or walk, so går literally means goes/walks. In this sentence, though, it is part of a very natural Swedish expression, so the whole sentence is understood as something like the dog walks on a leash or the dog is on a leash.

Why is it i koppel and not på koppel or med koppel?

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Because i koppel is the standard Swedish expression for on a leash.

This is one of those cases where Swedish and English use different prepositions. English says on a leash, but Swedish says i koppel.

i koppel = the normal idiomatic expression
med koppel = literally with a leash, which sounds less natural if you mean the dog is being kept on a leash
på koppel is not the normal expression here

Why is there no article before koppel?

Because i koppel is a fixed expression, and Swedish often leaves out the article in this kind of phrase.

So even though the noun is:

ett koppel = a leash
kopplet = the leash

the idiomatic phrase is simply i koppel, not i ett koppel.

Here, koppel is being used in a general sense: the dog is in a leashed state, not specifically being described in relation to one particular leash.

Is går present tense? Does it mean walks or is walking?

Yes, går is present tense.

Swedish present tense can correspond to both:

walks
is walking

So depending on context, Hunden går i koppel could be translated in slightly different ways in English. Swedish does not always make the same simple-present vs. progressive distinction that English does.

Can I also say Hunden är kopplad?

Yes, absolutely.

Hunden är kopplad means the dog is leashed or the dog is attached to a leash. That is also very natural Swedish.

The difference is mainly one of wording:

Hunden går i koppel = the dog goes/walks on a leash; this is a common expression about how the dog is being walked or kept
Hunden är kopplad = the dog is leashed

Both are correct, but they are not exactly the same phrase.

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

The sentence follows normal Swedish main-clause word order:

Hunden = subject
går = verb
i koppel = prepositional phrase

So the pattern is:

subject + verb + adverbial/prepositional phrase

A useful thing to know is that Swedish main clauses normally keep the verb in the second position. So if you start with something else, the verb still comes second:

I parken går hunden i koppel. = In the park, the dog is on a leash.

How would I say this in the plural?

You can change the noun like this:

Hundarna går i koppel. = The dogs are on leashes / The dogs walk on leashes
Hundar går i koppel. = Dogs are kept on leashes / Dogs walk on leashes

So:

hund = dog
hunden = the dog
hundar = dogs
hundarna = the dogs

How is this sentence pronounced?

Very roughly, you can think of it like this:

Hunden ≈ HUN-den
går ≈ gor with a long vowel
i ≈ ee
koppel ≈ KOP-pel

A few notes:

The å in går is not exactly like any single English sound, but or in more is a rough starting point.
The u in hunden is also not exactly like English u.
The main stress is on the first syllable of hunden and koppel.

So the whole sentence is roughly:

HUN-den gor ee KOP-pel

But like most pronunciation guides based on English spelling, that is only approximate.

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