Breakdown of Inköpslistan ligger på bordet.
ligga
to lie
på
on
bordet
the table
inköpslistan
the shopping list
Questions & Answers about Inköpslistan ligger på bordet.
Why is Inköpslistan one word?
Swedish often makes compound nouns by joining words together.
- inköp = purchase, shopping
- lista = list
So inköpslista means shopping list or purchase list.
Then the ending -n is added for definiteness, giving inköpslistan = the shopping list.
This is very common in Swedish. English often uses separate words where Swedish prefers one compound word.
What does the ending -an in inköpslistan mean?
The ending -an marks the noun as definite: the shopping list.
Here is the breakdown:
- en lista = a list
- listan = the list
Because inköpslista is built on lista, it follows the same pattern:
- en inköpslista = a shopping list
- inköpslistan = the shopping list
So Swedish usually puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.
Why is it bordet and not just bord?