Hon är social och vill prata med alla gäster.

She is social and wants to talk with all the guests.

Breakdown of Hon är social och vill prata med alla gäster.

• vara: to be
• och: and
• vilja: to want
• hon: she
• prata: to talk
• med: with
• gästen: the guest
• alla: all
• social: social

Questions & Answers about Hon är social och vill prata med alla gäster.

Why is it hon är social and not something like hon är en social person?

Both are possible, but they are slightly different:

• Hon är social = She is sociable / outgoing.
  Using the adjective directly after är is very common with personal qualities in Swedish:

  • Han är snäll. – He is kind.
  • De är trevliga. – They are nice.

• Hon är en social person = She is a social person.
  This adds the noun person, so it sounds a bit more formal or explanatory. In everyday speech, Swedes usually just say hon är social.

Does social in Swedish mean exactly the same as social in English?

Not exactly. In this sentence:

• social = sociable, outgoing, likes being with people.

English social can mean:

• sociable (similar meaning), but also
• related to society (e.g. social issues, social policy).

In Swedish:

• social can mean sociable, as here.
• It can also mean related to social welfare / social services (e.g. socialtjänst = social services).

So here, with a person and vill prata med alla gäster, it clearly means sociable/outgoing.

Why is the verb är used here, and not something like vara?

Är is the present tense form of the verb att vara (to be).

• att vara = infinitive (to be)
• är = present tense (am / is / are)

You use är after a subject in the present tense:

• Jag är trött. – I am tired.
• Hon är social. – She is sociable.

You only use vara in structures that need the infinitive:

• att vara social – to be sociable
• Hon vill vara social. – She wants to be sociable.

How does the word order Hon är social fit with the Swedish “verb in second position” rule?

In main clauses, Swedish usually wants the finite verb in second position (V2).

In Hon är social:

1. Hon (subject) = first position
2. är (finite verb) = second position
3. social (predicative adjective) = rest of the clause

So it follows the normal pattern: Subject – Verb – Rest.

You could say Social är hon, but that is unusual and sounds like emphasis or poetry. Neutral statement = Hon är social.

Why is it vill prata and not vill att prata?

After vill (want to), Swedish uses the bare infinitive (without att) for most verbs:

• Hon vill prata. – She wants to talk.
• Jag vill äta. – I want to eat.
• De vill resa. – They want to travel.

If att is used after vill, it usually introduces a whole clause (that…), not an infinitive:

• Hon vill att du pratar. – She wants you to talk.
  (Here att = that, not to.)

So:

• vill prata = want to talk
• vill att du pratar = want that you talk

Why is the preposition med used in prata med alla gäster? Can I say prata till?

Prata med någon = talk with someone / speak to someone (a two-way conversation).

• Hon vill prata med alla gäster.
  She wants to have conversations with them.

Prata till någon is much less common and sounds more like speaking at someone, for example giving a speech to an audience. For normal interpersonal conversation, Swedes say:

• prata med (most common, informal)
• tala med (more formal but still common)

What is the difference between alla gäster and alla gästerna?

Both are grammatical, but the meaning is slightly different:

• alla gäster = all guests (guests in general, or not previously specified)
• alla gästerna = all the guests (a specific, known group)

In a real context:

• At a party, if you mean all the guests who are here at this party, you’d probably say:
  Hon vill prata med alla gästerna.

• If you are speaking more generally (for example about her job where she often meets guests), alla gäster can be fine.

Without context, both can sound natural, but alla gästerna is very typical in a concrete situation like “at this event”.

Why is gäster the plural of gäst, and not something like gästar?

Gäst is an en-word that belongs to a group of nouns that form the plural with -er:

• en gäst – flera gäster (one guest – several guests)

Other examples:

• en vän – flera vänner (friend – friends)
• en hand – flera händer (hand – hands)

So the pattern is:

• singular: gäst
• plural indefinite: gäster
• plural definite: gästerna

How do you pronounce gäster and prata?

Approximate pronunciation for an English speaker:

• gäster: [YEH-ster]

  • ä like in get but a bit more open.
  • g is a hard g (as in get).
  • Stress on the first syllable: GÄS-ter.

• prata: [PRAH-ta]

  • a is a broad a, similar to the a in father but shorter.
  • r is rolled or tapped.
  • Stress on the first syllable: PRA-ta.

Why is it hon and not henne or something else?

Swedish has different pronouns for subject and object, like English:

• Subject form:

  • hon = she
  • han = he
  • de = they

• Object form:

  • henne = her
  • honom = him
  • dem = them

In this sentence, the pronoun is the subject of the sentence:

• Hon är social… – She is sociable…

If she were the object, you would use henne:

• Alla gäster vill prata med henne. – All the guests want to talk to her.

Could I say Hon pratar med alla gäster instead of Hon vill prata med alla gäster?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

• Hon vill prata med alla gäster.
  She wants to talk to all the guests (intention/desire).

• Hon pratar med alla gäster.
  She talks to all the guests (it is actually happening, or happens regularly).

So both sentences are correct, just different in time/aspect: want to do vs is/does.