Learn Hardcore Swedish: Trädgården blir vacker på våren när blommorna börjar växa. - The garden becomes beautiful in the spring when the flowers start to grow.

Trädgården means “the garden”. In Swedish, nouns often take a definite suffix—here, “-en”—to indicate definiteness. The base word trädgård (“garden”) becomes trädgården when referring to a specific, known garden.

In the phrase blir vacker, why is the adjective vacker used in its basic form even though it describes a definite noun?

In Swedish, adjectives used in a predicative position (following linking verbs like blir) are not inflected for definiteness. Although trädgården is definite, the adjective remains in its uninflected form, so we say vacker instead of altering its ending.

What does på våren mean, and why is the preposition på used here instead of something like i?

På våren translates to “in the spring”. Swedish uses the preposition på in this fixed expression to denote the season. Even though English uses “in,” Swedish idiomatic usage requires på when referring to periods such as the spring, summer, and so on.

How is the clause när blommorna börjar växa structured, and why is it formed this way?

The clause när blommorna börjar växa means “when the flowers begin to grow.” It starts with när, a subordinating conjunction meaning “when,” which introduces a time-related dependent clause. The verb börjar (“begins”) is immediately followed by the bare infinitive växa (“grow”), a common Swedish construction where the infinitive is used without the particle att.

Why does börjar combine with växa without using att växa?

In Swedish, certain verbs like börja (to begin) are directly followed by the infinitive form of another verb without the particle att. This structure is standard in Swedish and is something learners should become familiar with since it differs from English, where “to” is usually included.