Breakdown of Hösten är en vacker årstid, för jag tycker om de färgglada träden.
Questions & Answers about Hösten är en vacker årstid, för jag tycker om de färgglada träden.
“Hösten” is the definite form of “höst” (autumn/fall), so it means “the autumn” rather than just “autumn”.
- höst = autumn (indefinite)
- hösten = the autumn (definite)
In Swedish, many common nouns form the definite by adding an ending:
- en-words (common gender): add -en
- bok → boken (book → the book)
- höst → hösten (autumn → the autumn)
Talking about seasons in a general, descriptive way often uses the definite form in Swedish:
- Hösten är kall. = Autumn is cold.
(literally “The autumn is cold.”)
So “Hösten är en vacker årstid” is literally “The autumn is a beautiful season.”
Two grammar points are involved: noun gender and adjective agreement.
Gender of “årstid”
- årstid (season) is a common gender noun, so it takes “en”, not “ett”:
- en årstid = a season
- årstid (season) is a common gender noun, so it takes “en”, not “ett”:
Adjective agreement in singular indefinite
- For a singular, indefinite, common-gender noun, the adjective uses its basic form:
- en vacker årstid
- en lång bok (a long book)
- en röd bil (a red car)
Contrast:
- ett vackert hus (neuter: ett hus → vackert)
- vackra hus (plural or definite: vackra)
- For a singular, indefinite, common-gender noun, the adjective uses its basic form:
So “en vacker årstid” is the regular pattern:
en + [basic adjective form] + [common-gender noun].
In Swedish, “för” here is a coordinating conjunction meaning “because/for”, joining two main clauses:
- Hösten är en vacker årstid,
- för jag tycker om de färgglada träden.
Swedish normally places a comma before conjunctions like:
- men (but)
- för (for/because)
- utan (but rather)
- så (so)
So the comma before “för” is standard Swedish punctuation, even though in English we often omit a comma before “because”.
Both “för” and “eftersom” can mean “because”, but they work a bit differently.
för
- Coordinating conjunction (links two main clauses).
- Often a bit more written or formal, similar to English “for” in “I stayed inside, for it was cold.”
- Cannot easily start the sentence in this meaning.
eftersom
- Subordinating conjunction (introduces a dependent clause).
- More neutral and very common in speech and writing.
- Can appear at the start of the sentence.
In this sentence you can say:
- Hösten är en vacker årstid, eftersom jag tycker om de färgglada träden.
That sounds completely natural.
You could also start with the reason:
- Eftersom jag tycker om de färgglada träden, är hösten en vacker årstid.
“tycker om” is a two-word verb that means “to like”:
- Jag tycker om de färgglada träden.
= I like the colorful trees.
“tycker” on its own usually means “to think (have an opinion)”:
- Jag tycker att hösten är fin.
= I think (that) autumn is nice.
“gillar” also means “to like”, and is very common and a bit more informal:
- Jag gillar de färgglada träden.
= I like the colorful trees.
Here, you could say either:
- …för jag tycker om de färgglada träden.
- …för jag gillar de färgglada träden.
Both are correct. Just “tycker de färgglada träden” would not mean “like the colorful trees”; you need “om”.
“de” here is a definite article used before an adjective + plural noun. This is a standard Swedish pattern:
- Basic noun: träd = tree / trees
- Definite plural without adjective: träden = the trees
- With an adjective, you need:
- a front article (de), and
- the definite ending on the noun (-en)
So:
- träden = the trees
- de färgglada träden = the colorful trees
This happens with all definite noun phrases that have an adjective in front:
- hus → huset (the house) → det stora huset (the big house)
- böcker → böckerna (the books) → de intressanta böckerna (the interesting books)
So both “de” and the ending “-en” are required.
“färgglad” is an adjective meaning “colorful” (literally “color-glad”). Swedish adjectives change form depending on gender, number, and definiteness.
Forms of färgglad:
- färgglad – singular, common gender, indefinite
- en färgglad bil (a colorful car)
- färgglatt – singular, neuter, indefinite
- ett färgglatt hus (a colorful house)
- färgglada – plural and all definite forms
- färgglada bilar (colorful cars)
- de färgglada bilarna (the colorful cars)
- de färgglada träden (the colorful trees)
Since träden is plural definite (“the trees”), the adjective must be färgglada.
The noun träd (tree) is irregular in that its singular and plural indefinite forms are the same:
- ett träd = a tree
- träd = tree / trees (context decides)
For the definite forms:
- singular definite: trädet = the tree
- plural definite: träden = the trees
So:
- träd = tree / trees (indefinite)
- trädet = the tree
- träden = the trees
There is no form like “trädar” in Swedish; plural is just träd, and for definite plural you add -en: träden.
Both can translate to “like/love,” but they have different strengths:
tycker om = like, be fond of
- Jag tycker om hösten. = I like autumn.
älskar = love (strong emotion)
- Jag älskar hösten. = I love autumn.
Using “tycker om” is more neutral and common if you simply enjoy or appreciate something. “Älskar” sounds stronger and more emotional, especially for people, but is also used quite a lot in casual speech (“Jag älskar choklad!”).
In this sentence, “tycker om de färgglada träden” fits well because it expresses a normal, positive feeling toward the colorful trees.
Key vowels:
ö in Hösten
- Similar to the vowel in British English “bird” or “heard”, but with more rounded lips.
- Tongue like in “e” (as in “get”), but lips rounded.
å in årstid
- Very close to English long “o” in “door” or “more”, but a bit more rounded and pure.
- Not like English “cat” or “father”; think a clear, rounded “oh”.
Breakdown:
- Hösten: roughly “HÖS-ten” (with ö as above, stress on Hös).
- årstid: “OR-s-teed” (stress on år, long å, and i like “ee” in “see”).
This kind of vowel practice is important because å, ä, ö are distinct letters in Swedish, not just variants of a, o.