En vuxen väntar vid sjön.

An adult is waiting by the lake.

Breakdown of En vuxen väntar vid sjön.

• en: a
• vänta: to wait
• vid: by
• sjön: the lake
• vuxen: the adult

Questions & Answers about En vuxen väntar vid sjön.

In en vuxen, is vuxen a noun or an adjective, and what does it literally mean?

Vuxen is originally an adjective meaning “grown, adult” (from växa – “to grow”), but here it is used as a noun, meaning “an adult”.

• en vuxen = an adult / a grown‑up
  So in this sentence, en vuxen is the subject: “An adult is waiting by the lake.”

Why is it en vuxen and not ett vuxen?

Swedish has two grammatical genders: en-words (common gender) and ett-words (neuter).

When vuxen is used as a noun for “an adult person”, it is treated as an en-word:

• en vuxen = an adult
• den vuxna = the adult

You only use ett with neuter nouns (like ett barn – a child). Vuxen (adult person) is not neuter, so ett vuxen is incorrect in this meaning.

How do I say “the adult” and “adults / the adults” using vuxen?

The most common forms are:

• en vuxen – an adult
• den vuxna – the adult
• vuxna – adults
• de vuxna – the adults

Examples:

• Den vuxna väntar vid sjön. – The adult is waiting by the lake.
• Vuxna väntar vid sjön. – Adults are waiting by the lake.
• De vuxna väntar vid sjön. – The adults are waiting by the lake.

Why is väntar translated as “is waiting” when there is no separate word for “is”?

In Swedish, the present tense verb form covers both English “waits” and “is waiting”. There is no separate continuous form.

• En vuxen väntar vid sjön.
  – An adult waits by the lake.
  – An adult is waiting by the lake.

Both English translations are possible; context decides which sounds more natural.

When do you say just väntar, and when do you say väntar på?

• vänta alone = “to wait” in general

  • En vuxen väntar vid sjön. – An adult is waiting by the lake. (We’re not saying what for.)

• vänta på = “to wait for” someone or something

  • En vuxen väntar på bussen. – An adult is waiting for the bus.
  • En vuxen väntar på dig. – An adult is waiting for you.

So when you mention what is being waited for, you usually need på.

What does vid mean in vid sjön, and how is it different from i or nära?

vid basically means “by, at, next to”.

• vid sjön – by the lake / at the lake (near the lake, but not in the water)

Compared with:

• i sjön – in the lake (in the water)
• nära sjön – near the lake (in the area around the lake, not necessarily right next to it)

So:

• vid sjön focuses on being right by the lake, next to it.
• i sjön means inside the lake.
• nära sjön is more general: somewhere near the lake.

Why is it sjön and not sjö? What’s the difference?

The base word is sjö = “lake”.

Swedish usually marks “the” with an ending, not a separate word:

• en sjö – a lake
• sjön – the lake

So sjön means “the lake”.
En vuxen väntar vid sjön. = An adult is waiting by the lake.

How would I say “by a lake” instead of “by the lake”?

Use the indefinite form of sjö:

• En vuxen väntar vid en sjö.
  – An adult is waiting by a lake.

Compare:

• vid sjön – by the lake
• vid en sjö – by a lake

Can I say Vid sjön väntar en vuxen instead, and does it mean the same thing?

Yes. Swedish allows you to put the place first:

• En vuxen väntar vid sjön.
• Vid sjön väntar en vuxen.

Both mean “An adult is waiting by the lake.”

The difference is mainly focus:

• Starting with En vuxen focuses first on who is doing the action.
• Starting with Vid sjön focuses first on where it happens (the place is the topic).

How would I say “An adult is waiting in the lake” (in the water), not “by the lake”?

Use i (“in”) instead of vid (“by”):

• En vuxen väntar i sjön.
  – An adult is waiting in the lake.

So:

• vid sjön – by / at the lake
• i sjön – in the lake

What are the main forms of sjö (a lake, the lake, lakes, the lakes)?

For sjö (an en-word):

• en sjö – a lake (indefinite singular)
• sjön – the lake (definite singular)
• sjöar – lakes (indefinite plural)
• sjöarna – the lakes (definite plural)

Examples:

• Det finns många sjöar här. – There are many lakes here.
• Vi simmar i sjöarna. – We swim in the lakes.

How do you pronounce sjön and vuxen?

Approximate pronunciations (they vary by region):

• sjön

  • The sj sound is a special Swedish sound, often written as /ɧ/: a kind of soft “sh” pronounced further back in the mouth.
  • ö is like the vowel in French “peur” or German “schön”, or like English “bird” but with rounded lips.
  • Roughly: /ɧœn/

• vuxen

  • v as in English “v”.
  • u is a front rounded vowel, something like a mix between English “oo” (in “book”) and “ee”, with rounded lips.
  • x is pronounced /ks/.
  • Stress is on the first syllable: VUX-en.
  • Roughly: /ˈvʉksɛn/

Listening to native audio (e.g. Forvo or a Swedish TTS) is very helpful for getting these sounds right.