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Questions & Answers about Brodern dricker kaffe.
What does brodern mean in this sentence, and why does it end with -n?
Brodern translates to the brother in English. The ending -n is a definite suffix in Swedish, indicating that the noun is in its definite form. Without the suffix, broder would mean a brother or simply brother in an indefinite sense.
How is the overall word order in Brodern dricker kaffe similar to or different from English?
The word order in this Swedish sentence follows a subject–verb–object (SVO) pattern, just like in English. Brodern (subject) comes first, dricker (verb) second, and kaffe (object) last, making it quite familiar for English speakers.
What does the verb dricker mean, and how is it formed from its base form?
The verb dricker means drinks. It is formed from the base verb dricka (to drink) by adding the -r ending, which is a common way to form the present tense for many Swedish verbs.
How would you express the indefinite version of this sentence, i.e. “a brother drinks coffee”?
To express the indefinite, you would switch brodern to its indefinite form, en broder. So the sentence becomes En broder dricker kaffe, meaning a brother drinks coffee.