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Questions & Answers about Jag har både en hund och en katt.
What does både ... och ... mean in this sentence?
It translates to both ... and ... in English. In the sentence, it emphasizes that the speaker owns two animals—specifically, a dog and a cat.
Why is the indefinite article en repeated before both hund and katt?
In Swedish, each noun typically gets its own article. En is the indefinite article used for common gender nouns, so en hund means "a dog" and en katt means "a cat." Repeating the article clarifies that each noun stands on its own.
Can the sentence be written without både? If so, how does that affect the meaning?
Yes, you can say Jag har en hund och en katt. This still means "I have a dog and a cat." However, using både adds emphasis, indicating that the speaker explicitly points out having both animals rather than just listing them.
What is the role of the word har in the sentence?
Har is the present tense of the verb att ha, which means "to have." It functions as the main verb, indicating possession.
Is a comma needed before och in this sentence, similar to some English constructions?
No comma is required before och. In Swedish, like in English when linking two items with a conjunction, no comma is needed in a simple list.
How does the sentence structure of Jag har både en hund och en katt. compare to its English equivalent?
The structure is very similar. The sentence follows a Subject-Verb-Object order: Jag (I) is the subject, har (have) is the verb, and både en hund och en katt (both a dog and a cat) is the object. This makes the sentence straightforward for English speakers to understand.