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Questions & Answers about Dagen är bra.
What does the sentence Dagen är bra literally mean in English?
It literally translates to "The day is good." Here, Dagen means "the day," är is the present tense of the verb to be (i.e., "is"), and bra means "good."
How is definiteness indicated in the noun Dagen?
In Swedish, definiteness is expressed by adding a suffix to the noun instead of using a separate word like "the." The noun dag (day) becomes dagen when made definite, much like saying "the day" in English.
What grammatical function does är serve in this sentence?
Är is the present tense form of the verb vara, which means "to be." It acts as a linking or copular verb that connects the subject (Dagen) with its predicate adjective (bra).
How does the adjective bra function here, and does it change form based on its position?
Bra functions as a predicative adjective—it describes the subject after the linking verb är. In Swedish, adjectives used in the predicative position (after the verb) remain in their base form, whereas adjectives used attributively before a noun (as in "en bra dag" for "a good day") might acquire an inflected form. In this case, bra stays unchanged.
What is the sentence structure of Dagen är bra?
The sentence follows the standard Swedish sentence structure: Subject + Verb + Predicate (adjective). Here, Dagen is the subject, är is the linking verb, and bra is the predicate adjective describing the subject.
Why is Dagen capitalized in this sentence?
Dagen is capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence. Unlike German, where every noun is capitalized, Swedish only capitalizes the first word of a sentence and proper nouns.