Questions & Answers about De vill äta olika mat till middag.
Why is it De and not dem or dom?
In standard writing, de is the subject pronoun “they,” while dem is the object “them.” Both are pronounced “dom” in most speech.
- Subject: De vill äta. = They want to eat.
- Object: Jag såg dem. = I saw them.
- After a preposition: med dem = with them. Many people write dom informally for both, but in formal writing stick to de/dem.
How do you pronounce the whole sentence naturally?
Say it roughly as: “dom vill EH-ta OO-lee-ka maht till MID-dah(g).” Tips:
- de/dem sound like “dom.”
- ä in äta is like the “a” in “air,” a bit fronter: äta ≈ “EH-ta.”
- olika has stress on the first syllable: OO-li-ka.
- middag has a short i; the final g is often weak or silent in Sweden: midda or a light middagg.
- Double consonants (like -dd-) make the preceding vowel short.
Why is there no att before äta?