Inköpslistan minskar matsvinnet.

to reduce

Breakdown of Inköpslistan minskar matsvinnet.

• matsvinnet: the food waste
• inköpslistan: the shopping list

Questions & Answers about Inköpslistan minskar matsvinnet.

Why is there no separate word for the in Inköpslistan?

Because Swedish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.

• inköpslista = shopping list
• inköpslistan = the shopping list

The ending -n here means the.
So Swedish often says one word where English uses two.

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Why does matsvinnet also end in a definite ending?

For the same reason: Swedish marks definiteness with an ending.

• matsvinn = food waste
• matsvinnet = the food waste

Here the ending is -et, which is a common definite ending for ett-words.

So both nouns in the sentence are definite:

• Inköpslistan = the shopping list
• matsvinnet = the food waste

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Why are both nouns definite if English might say something more general, like A shopping list reduces food waste?

Swedish often uses the definite singular to talk about something in a general or typical sense.

So Inköpslistan minskar matsvinnet can mean something like:

• The shopping list reduces food waste
• A shopping list reduces food waste
• Shopping lists reduce food waste

depending on context.

This kind of definite form is very common in Swedish when talking about a whole category or a general idea.

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