Matresterna står i kylskåpet.

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Breakdown of Matresterna står i kylskåpet.

• stå: to stand
• kylskåpet: the fridge
• matresterna: the leftovers

Questions & Answers about Matresterna står i kylskåpet.

Why is matresterna written as one word?

Because Swedish very often makes compound nouns by joining words together.

Here, mat means food and rester means leftovers / remains. Together, matrester means food leftovers.

Then the ending -na is added to make it definite plural, so matresterna means the leftovers.

This is very normal in Swedish. English often uses separate words where Swedish prefers one combined word.

What does the ending -na in matresterna mean?

-na is the definite plural ending here.

So:

• en matrest = a leftover / a food remnant
• matrester = leftovers
• matresterna = the leftovers

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about specific leftovers, so Swedish uses the definite form matresterna.

Why is it rester in the plural instead of a singular word?