Dels knådar vi leran, dels formar vi den.

Dels ..., dels ... is a pairing that means something like partly ..., partly ..., on the one hand ..., on the other hand ..., or both ... and ... depending on context.

In this sentence:

Dels knådar vi leran, dels formar vi den.

the idea is:

• one part of the activity is kneading the clay
• another part is shaping it

So dels introduces one component, and the second dels introduces another.

It is not exactly the same as simple and. It organizes the sentence into two parallel parts.

This is because Swedish follows the verb-second rule in main clauses.

When dels comes first, it takes the first position in the clause. The finite verb then has to come second:

• Dels knådar vi leran
• Dels formar vi den

So the word order becomes:

1. dels
2. verb
3. subject

This is very common in Swedish whenever something other than the subject starts the sentence.

Compare:

• Vi knådar leran.
• Nu knådar vi leran.
• Dels knådar vi leran.

In all of these, the verb still stays in second position.

In Swedish, definiteness is often shown with an ending attached to the noun.

So:

• lera = clay
• leran = the clay

The ending -n marks the definite form here.

This is one of the big differences from English. Instead of putting the before the noun, Swedish often adds a definite ending to the noun itself.

Den means it here and refers back to leran.

So:

• leran = the clay
• den = it

The second clause avoids repeating the noun:

• Dels knådar vi leran, dels formar vi den.

That is similar to English:

• We knead the clay, and we shape it.

Because lera is a common-gender noun in Swedish, the pronoun is den rather than det.

In ordinary Swedish main clauses, object pronouns usually come after the finite verb.

So:

• vi formar den = we shape it

This is the normal order:

• subject + verb + object

Here, because of verb-second word order after dels, it becomes:

• dels formar vi den

So the full structure is:

• dels
  • verb + subject + object

They are both present tense forms.

• att knåda = to knead

• knådar = kneads / are kneading / knead

• att forma = to shape, form
• formar = shapes / are shaping / shape

Swedish present tense often ends in -r, especially with verbs like these.

Because Swedish present tense does not change for different persons, the same form is used with jag, du, vi, de, and so on.

For example:

• jag knådar
• vi knådar
• de knådar

Not exactly, though they can sometimes feel similar in translation.

• både ... och ... = both ... and ...
• dels ..., dels ... = partly ..., partly ... / on the one hand ..., on the other hand ...

Både ... och ... is often more straightforwardly additive.

Dels ..., dels ... often sounds a bit more structured, as if you are listing two aspects or two parts of something.

For example:

• Vi både knådar leran och formar den.
  = We both knead the clay and shape it.

• Dels knådar vi leran, dels formar vi den.
  = We knead the clay, and we also shape it / partly we knead it, partly we shape it.

The second version has a more balanced, slightly more formal or organized feel.

Not very well. It usually needs a natural English translation rather than a word-for-word one.

Depending on context, dels may be rendered as:

• partly
• for one thing
• on the one hand
• both
• sometimes just left implicit in smoother English

So for this sentence, a very literal translation may sound awkward. Natural English would usually be something like:

• We knead the clay and shape it.
• Partly we knead the clay, partly we shape it.
• We both knead the clay and shape it.

Which translation works best depends on the context and tone.

The å in knådar is pronounced roughly like the vowel in British English more or law, though not exactly the same.

A rough guide:

• knåda sounds approximately like KNOH-da
• knådar sounds approximately like KNOH-dar

Also, Swedish r is not pronounced like an English r in every accent, so the ending may sound lighter than an English speaker expects.

The spelling kn- is also worth noticing: both consonants are written, and in modern Swedish pronunciation the k is normally pronounced here.

Yes, you could repeat the noun, but using den is more natural.

Compare:

• Dels knådar vi leran, dels formar vi den.
  This is the most natural version.

• Dels knådar vi leran, dels formar vi leran.
  This is grammatical, but repetitive.

Just like in English, Swedish often uses a pronoun to avoid unnecessary repetition once the noun has already been introduced.