Vår granne lånar ofta vår cykel.

Our neighbor often borrows our bike.

Breakdown of Vår granne lånar ofta vår cykel.

• ofta: often
• vår: our
• låna: to borrow
• cykeln: the bike
• grannen: the neighbor

Questions & Answers about Vår granne lånar ofta vår cykel.

Does the verb låna mean “to borrow” or “to lend”?

Both. Context decides who borrows and who lends. To be explicit:

• Borrow: låna (often with av/från = from)
  • Vår granne lånar ofta vår cykel. = Our neighbor borrows our bike.
  • Vi lånar cykeln av grannen. = We borrow the bike from the neighbor.
• Lend: låna ut (lend out)
  • Vår granne lånar ut sin cykel till oss. = Our neighbor lends his/her bike to us.

Why is vår repeated? Could I drop the second vår?

Swedish normally repeats the possessive with each possessed noun. Vår granne lånar ofta vår cykel explicitly says both the neighbor and the bike are ours. If you say Vår granne lånar ofta cykeln, you mean “our neighbor often borrows the bike” (a specific bike already known in context), not necessarily ours. Both are grammatical, but they mean slightly different things.

Why not vår grannen?

With a possessive, Swedish does not use the definite ending on the noun. So it’s:

• Correct: vår granne, vårt hus, våra vänner
• Incorrect: vår grannen, vårt huset, våra vännerna

Compare with adjectives:

• With adjective + no possessive: use “double definiteness”: den snälla grannen
• With possessive + adjective: no article, no noun ending: vår snälla granne

When do I use vår, vårt, and våra?

They agree with the possessed noun:

• vår
  • en-words (common gender): vår cykel, vår granne
• vårt
  • ett-words (neuter): vårt hus
• våra
  • all plurals: våra cyklar, våra grannar

Why is ofta placed after the verb (lånar ofta)?

Main-clause word order follows the V2 rule: the finite verb is in second position. Adverbs like ofta typically go after the finite verb:

• Vår granne lånar ofta vår cykel. If you start with the adverb, the verb still stays second:
• Ofta lånar vår granne vår cykel.

Is Vår granne ofta lånar vår cykel correct?

No. That breaks V2. Either keep the subject first, then the verb:

• Vår granne lånar ofta vår cykel. Or start with the adverb and put the verb second:
• Ofta lånar vår granne vår cykel.

Can I put ofta at the end: Vår granne lånar vår cykel ofta?

It’s possible in speech for emphasis, but the neutral, most natural placement is after the finite verb: lånar ofta. End-position can sound marked or informal.

How do I conjugate låna?

It’s a regular first-conjugation verb:

• Infinitive: låna
• Present: lånar
• Past (preterite): lånade
• Supine (used with har/hade): lånat
• Imperative: låna!
• Passive: lånas (e.g., Cyklar lånas ofta ut på sommaren.)

How do I say “Our neighbor lends his/her bike to us”?

Use låna ut and the reflexive possessive sin:

• Vår granne lånar ut sin cykel till oss. If you name the recipient, use till: lånar ut X till Y.

Should it be vår or sin here?

In the original sentence, vår is correct because the bike belongs to “us,” not to the subject. Sin/sitt/sina refers back to the subject’s own possession. So:

• Vår granne lånar ofta sin cykel. = Our neighbor often borrows his/her own bike (odd meaning).
• Vår granne lånar ofta vår cykel. = Our neighbor borrows our bike (natural).

What are the forms of granne and cykel?

• granne (en-word): singular indefinite en granne, definite grannen; plural indefinite grannar, definite grannarna.
• cykel (en-word): singular indefinite en cykel, definite cykeln; plural indefinite cyklar, definite cyklarna.

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

• å in vår and lånar sounds like the vowel in English “bought.”
• y in cykel is a rounded front vowel (like French “u” in “tu”); don’t pronounce it like English “i” or “ee.”
• c in cykel sounds like s.
• ofta is commonly pronounced without the “t” in everyday speech (sounds like “ofa”).
• Stress is on the first syllable of most words: Vår, gran-ne, lå-nar, of-ta, cy-kel.

Is våran acceptable?

In standard Swedish, use vår/vårt/våra. Forms like våran/vårat are dialectal/colloquial and avoided in writing and formal speech.

Can I use brukar instead of ofta?

Yes, with a nuance difference:

• Vår granne lånar ofta vår cykel. = often (frequency).
• Vår granne brukar låna vår cykel. = tends to/usually does (habit). Both are fine; brukar emphasizes a habitual pattern.

Why is there no article before vår cykel?

Possessives replace articles in Swedish. You don’t use en/ett or den/det/de with a possessive:

• Correct: vår cykel
• Incorrect: den vår cykel, en vår cykel

How would the sentence look with a plural object (“our bikes”)?

Use the plural possessive and plural noun:

• Vår granne lånar ofta våra cyklar. Don’t add the definite ending with a possessive, so not “våra cyklarna.”