Breakdown of De färgglada böckerna ligger under lampan i vardagsrummet.
Questions & Answers about De färgglada böckerna ligger under lampan i vardagsrummet.
Böckerna is the definite plural form: bok (a book) → böcker (books) → böckerna (the books).
In Swedish:
- Indefinite plural: böcker = "books" (in general)
- Definite plural: böckerna = "the books" (specific ones)
Because the English meaning is "the colorful books...", you must use the definite plural böckerna, not just böcker.
De is the subject form ("they"), while dem is the object form ("them").
In this sentence, de is the subject: De färgglada böckerna ligger ... → The colorful books lie...
So you must use de, not dem.
Pronunciation in spoken Swedish:
- Both de and dem are usually pronounced "dom".
- So you will say something like: Dom färgglada böckerna ligger under lampan..., even though you write De.
In informal writing, some people even write dom, but standard written Swedish uses de/dem.
Färgglada is the plural definite form of the adjective färgglad (colorful).
Adjectives in Swedish must agree with the noun in:
- Number (singular/plural)
- Definiteness (indefinite/definite)
- Gender (for singular)
For färgglad:
- En-word, singular, indefinite: en färgglad bok – a colorful book
- Ett-word, singular, indefinite: ett färgglatt hus – a colorful house
- Plural, indefinite: färgglada böcker – colorful books
- Plural, definite: de färgglada böckerna – the colorful books
Because böckerna is definite plural, the adjective must be färgglada.
In Swedish, the normal order when you have an article, an adjective, and a noun is:
[article] + [adjective] + [noun]
So:
- de färgglada böckerna = the colorful books
Not: - de böckerna färgglada (this is wrong in normal sentences)
Compare:
- den stora bilen – the big car
- det gamla huset – the old house
- de nya skorna – the new shoes
So de färgglada böckerna follows the regular pattern: article de + adjective färgglada + noun böckerna.
Swedish often uses position verbs instead of just är (is/are). The most common are:
- stå – to stand
- ligga – to lie (be lying)
- sitta – to sit
- hänga – to hang
- vara – to be (more general)
You use them for where something is located:
- Böckerna ligger på bordet. – The books are (lying) on the table.
- Glaset står på bordet. – The glass is (standing) on the table.
- Bilden hänger på väggen. – The picture is (hanging) on the wall.
Because books are normally thought of as lying flat, Swedish says böckerna ligger, not böckerna är.
Är would be grammatically possible but less natural; ligger gives a clearer, more idiomatic picture.
Both are possible, but under lampan i vardagsrummet is more natural because Swedish usually goes from smaller/closer place → larger/broader place:
- på bordet i köket – on the table in the kitchen
- under stolen i hallen – under the chair in the hallway
- under lampan i vardagsrummet – under the lamp in the living room
So the sentence first tells you the immediate location (under lampan) and then the bigger location (i vardagsrummet).
You can say …ligger i vardagsrummet under lampan, and people will understand you. It's just slightly less typical in this kind of description.
Lampan is definite singular: lampa (a lamp) → lampan (the lamp).
We use the definite form when both speaker and listener know which object we mean. Here, it’s not “under some lamp or other” but under the lamp (a specific one in the living room).
Compare:
- under en lampa – under a lamp (any lamp, not specified)
- under lampan – under the lamp (a particular one)
Also, Swedish does not say under lampa without any article in this meaning; you normally need en or lampan.
I means in / inside, while på usually means on / on top of or sometimes at.
- i vardagsrummet – in the living room (inside the room)
- på bordet – on the table
- på taket – on the roof
- på kontoret – at the office (fixed expression)
Rooms and enclosed spaces normally use i:
- i köket – in the kitchen
- i sovrummet – in the bedroom
- i vardagsrummet – in the living room
So i vardagsrummet is the normal, correct choice.
The three nouns here:
- en bok (common gender, en-word)
- en lampa (common gender, en-word)
- ett vardagsrum (neuter gender, ett-word)
Their definite singular forms:
- boken – the book
- lampan – the lamp
- vardagsrummet – the living room
Rules (simplified):
- Most en-words: add -en or -n
- en bok → boken
- en lampa → lampan
- Most ett-words: add -et or -t
- ett vardagsrum → vardagsrummet
So in the sentence:
- lampan = the lamp (en-word → -n)
- vardagsrummet = the living room (ett-word → -et)
It’s not wrong, but it is less natural.
Grammatically:
- De färgglada böckerna är under lampan i vardagsrummet. – The colorful books are under the lamp in the living room.
However, native speakers strongly prefer a position verb here:
- … ligger under lampan …
Using är sounds more neutral and less descriptive of physical position. Ligger adds the idea that they are lying there as objects, which is exactly what books usually do.
Yes, that is correct Swedish and quite natural, especially if you want to emphasize the place (in the living room).
Word order:
De färgglada böckerna ligger under lampan i vardagsrummet.
→ neutral: focus starts with "the colorful books".I vardagsrummet ligger de färgglada böckerna under lampan.
→ focuses first on "in the living room"; maybe you’re contrasting with another room.
Both follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (ligger) is in the second position in the clause.