Erik köper kläder i en stor stad.

Erik

Breakdown of Erik köper kläder i en stor stad.

• stor: big
• i: in
• en: a
• köpa: to buy
• kläderna: the clothes
• staden: the city

Questions & Answers about Erik köper kläder i en stor stad.

Why is kläder in plural form here instead of a singular form of clothing?

In Swedish, kläder means clothes in general and is already a plural noun. If you were referring to a specific clothing item, you might say ett plagg (an item of clothing) or something more specific like en tröja (a sweater). But when talking about clothes in general or shopping for clothes, you use kläder in plural form.

How do you pronounce köper correctly in Swedish?

Köper has the sj-sound (kö) in the beginning, which is similar to an English sh but formed slightly further back in the mouth. The r-sound at the end is tapped or rolled slightly, typical of Swedish r. So it might sound like “shur-per” or “shœr-per”, depending on the dialect.

What does i mean in this context, and is it always used to say “in” in Swedish?

I generally means in or inside something in Swedish, as it does here when indicating en stor stad. However, depending on the specific phrase and context, other prepositions might be used. For example, på is often used for places where an activity happens, like på kontoret (at the office). But i is correct when referring to being inside a city, building, or closed space.

Why do we need en before stor stad?

Swedish requires an indefinite article (either en or ett) before singular nouns to match their grammatical gender. Here, stad is an en-word, so you use en. En stor stad translates to a big city in English.

Why is stor placed before stad instead of after it?

In Swedish, most descriptive adjectives come before the noun in their base form. So when describing a city as big, you say en stor stad (literally a big city). If you used it after the noun, you would have to use the definite form, which creates a different sentence structure (like staden är stor, meaning the city is big).