Breakdown of Jag har ett tydligt minne av när vi träffades i centrum.
Questions & Answers about Jag har ett tydligt minne av när vi träffades i centrum.
In Swedish, nouns have grammatical gender: en-words (common gender) and ett-words (neuter gender).
- minne is an ett-word (neuter), so it takes the indefinite article ett, not en.
- ett minne – a memory
- minnet – the memory
So the correct phrase is ett tydligt minne, not en tydligt minne.
Adjectives in Swedish agree with the noun’s gender, number, and definiteness.
- For an indefinite, singular, neuter noun (like ett minne), the adjective usually takes -t:
- ett tydligt minne – a clear memory
- ett stort hus – a big house
Compare with:
- Indefinite, singular, common gender (en-word):
- en tydlig bild – a clear picture
- Definite or plural (both genders):
- det tydliga minnet – the clear memory
- tydliga minnen – clear memories
So tydligt is the correct form with ett minne here.
Both talk about remembering, but they differ slightly in structure and nuance:
Jag minns när vi träffades i centrum.
- Uses the verb minnas (“to remember”).
- More direct, neutral way to say “I remember when we met in town.”
Jag har ett tydligt minne av när vi träffades i centrum.
- Uses the noun minne (“a memory”) with the verb ha.
- Sounds a bit more descriptive or reflective, emphasizing the memory as a thing that you possess, and its quality (tydligt).
Both are correct and natural; the original sentence just puts focus on the clear, distinct memory rather than the act of remembering.
The phrase ett minne av något (“a memory of something”) is a fixed, very common pattern in Swedish.
- minne av X ≈ “memory of X”
- Jag har ett fint minne av resan. – I have a nice memory of the trip.
- Hon har ett starkt minne av sin barndom. – She has a strong memory of her childhood.
So av is the standard preposition used after minne when you describe what the memory is about.
när vi träffades i centrum is a subordinate clause introduced by the conjunction när (“when”).
In Swedish subordinate clauses:
- The subject usually comes before the verb.
- So we say:
- när vi träffades – when we met
not - när träffades vi (that would be a main clause question: “When did we meet?”).
- när vi träffades – when we met
Word order patterns:
- Main clause (statement):
Vi träffades i centrum. – We met in the centre. (Verb in 2nd position.) - Subordinate clause:
när vi träffades i centrum – when we met in the centre (subject directly after när).
The sentence wraps this subordinate clause inside the larger structure:
- Jag har ett tydligt minne av [när vi träffades i centrum].
The verb träffas is the -s form of träffa.
- träffa = to meet (someone)
- Jag träffade henne igår. – I met her yesterday.
- träffas = to meet (each other) / to get together (reciprocal meaning)
- Vi träffades i centrum. – We met (each other) in the centre.
The -s here is not the passive voice in the usual sense; it’s a so‑called deponent/reciprocal form:
- Vi träffades ≈ “We met each other” / “We met up.”
So träffades is the past tense of träffas.
No, that would be incorrect in standard Swedish.
- träffa needs a direct object:
- Vi träffade honom i centrum. – We met him in the centre.
- When you want to say that you met each other, you use träffas:
- Vi träffades i centrum. – We met in the centre.
So for “we met (each other) in the centre”, you must use träffades, not träffade.
Prepositions in Swedish can be quite idiomatic, and i centrum is the standard phrase for “in the city centre / downtown”.
- i centrum – in the centre (as an area):
- Vi bor i centrum. – We live in the city centre.
- Affären ligger i centrum. – The shop is in the centre.
Using på centrum would normally sound wrong when referring to the town centre as a place/area. You might see på with some specific buildings or institutions (på universitetet, på sjukhuset, på stationen), but the general city centre is i centrum.
centrum is a neuter noun (ett centrum), and it can mean:
- City centre / downtown (very common):
- Often used without an article as a kind of place name:
- i centrum – in the city centre
- Often used without an article as a kind of place name:
- Centre / middle / hub more generally:
- ett köpcentrum – a shopping centre
- stadens centrum – the city’s centre
You can use an article in the right context:
- ett centrum – a centre
- centrumet – the centre
But in the idiomatic expression about the town centre, Swedes mostly say just i centrum.
No, that would be ungrammatical and very confusing.
Key points:
- The subordinate conjunction när must come at the beginning of its clause:
- när vi träffades i centrum
- You can’t move när to the end in Swedish, and you can’t just drop it here; it’s required to introduce the time clause.
Correct options (all fine, with slightly different emphasis):
- Jag har ett tydligt minne av när vi träffades i centrum.
- Jag minns tydligt när vi träffades i centrum.
- Jag har ett tydligt minne av vårt första möte i centrum. (“of our first meeting”)
Yes, that’s a very natural alternative.
- komma ihåg = “to remember”
- Jag kommer tydligt ihåg när vi träffades i centrum.
≈ “I clearly remember when we met in the centre.”
Differences:
- Jag har ett tydligt minne av …
– focuses on the memory as a noun (a clear memory). - Jag kommer tydligt ihåg …
– focuses more on the act of remembering.
Both sound natural; it’s mostly a stylistic choice.