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De spelar fotboll.

De spelar fotboll.
They play soccer.
FromLesson 4inHardcore Swedish
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Breakdown of De spelar fotboll.

de
they
spela
to play
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Questions & Answers about De spelar fotboll.

What does De mean in this sentence?
De translates to they in English. It is the subject pronoun referring to a group of people or things.
What is the role of spelar and how is it used?
Spelar is the present tense form of the verb spela, meaning to play. It indicates that the playing is either happening now or is a habitual action. In Swedish, verbs in the present tense typically add an -r to the stem, making spela become spelar.
What does fotboll mean, and is it used like its English counterpart?
Fotboll means football (or soccer in North American English). It is used in Swedish similarly to how we use the word in English to refer to the sport.
How is the word order in Swedish structured in this sentence compared to English?
The sentence follows a subject-verb-object (SVO) order, which is the same as in English. De is the subject, spelar is the verb, and fotboll is the object, making it easy for English speakers to recognize the sentence structure.
Is there anything notable about the pronunciation or colloquial use of De in Swedish?
Yes. Although De is the standard written form for they, in everyday conversation it is often pronounced as dom. Understanding this difference can help learners recognize the word in spoken Swedish while knowing its grammatical role remains unchanged.