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Learn Hardcore Swedish: Bussen är där borta. - The bus is over there.

Hardcore Swedish
/Lesson 23
/Bussen är där borta.

Bussen är där borta.

Word

Bussen är där borta.

Meaning

The bus is over there.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Swedish

Lesson

Breakdown of Bussen är där borta.

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Questions & Answers about Bussen är där borta.

Why is it bussen and not just buss?

Buss is the basic (indefinite) form and means a bus.

Swedish usually shows “the” by adding an ending instead of a separate word:

en buss = a bus
bussen = the bus

So bussen literally means bus‑the. That’s why the sentence uses bussen: it’s talking about a specific bus that both speaker and listener know about.

What is the difference between en buss, buss, and bussen?

They’re related forms of the same noun:

buss – dictionary form; also used after numbers and some quantifiers
- två buss (actually: två bussar, plural)
en buss – a bus (indefinite, singular, “en‑word” noun)
bussen – the bus (definite, singular)

So:

En buss är där borta. = A bus is over there. (you don’t care which one)
Bussen är där borta. = The bus is over there. (a particular bus)

What does är mean here, and does it change with I/you/he like in English?

Är is the present tense of att vara (to be). It covers English am / is / are all in one form.

Swedish does not change the verb for different persons:

jag är – I am
du är – you are
han/hon är – he/she is
vi är – we are
ni är – you (plural) are
de är – they are

So in Bussen är där borta, är corresponds to is in English, but the form would stay är no matter what the subject is.

What exactly does där borta mean, and how is it different from just där?

Both indicate location, but with a nuance:

där = there (fairly neutral)
där borta = literally there away, often felt as over there / over that way (a bit more distant or pointing out a more specific/visible location)

Roughly:

Bussen är där. – The bus is there.
Bussen är där borta. – The bus is over there (a bit away from us / where I’m pointing).

Is the word order fixed? Can I also say Där borta är bussen?

Both are correct, but the emphasis shifts.

Bussen är där borta. – neutral statement; you’re talking about the bus and telling where it is.
Där borta är bussen. – you’re focusing on the place first, often like: That’s where the bus is / Over there is the bus (for example, correcting someone or pointing something out).

Swedish word order allows this inversion for emphasis, especially when you start the sentence with a place word (där borta, här, på gatan, etc.), but you always keep a verb early in the clause:

Där borta är bussen. (not Där borta bussen är)

Can I leave out är, like saying Bussen där borta?

Not as a normal full sentence.

Bussen är där borta. – full, correct sentence.
Bussen där borta – just a noun phrase, like saying “the bus over there” without a verb. You might see or hear it as part of a longer sentence:
- Jag tar bussen där borta. – I’m taking the bus over there.

If you want a complete sentence like “The bus is over there”, you need är.

How would I say “The buses are over there” in Swedish?

You need the plural forms:

bussar – buses (indefinite plural)
bussarna – the buses (definite plural)

So:

Bussarna är där borta. = The buses are over there.

Pattern:

en buss → bussar → bussarna
a bus → buses → the buses

Why doesn’t Swedish use a separate word like “the” before bussen?

Swedish (like other Scandinavian languages) usually marks definiteness with a suffix, not a separate article:

en bok – a book → boken – the book
ett hus – a house → huset – the house
en buss – a bus → bussen – the bus

There are separate words den / det / de that work a bit like “the”, but they are used together with the suffix in certain cases:

den stora bussen – the big bus
de där bussarna – those buses / the buses there

In your sentence, a simple noun without adjectives just takes the definite ending: bussen.

Could I use verbs like står or ligger instead of är when talking about location?

Yes, sometimes Swedes prefer a “position verb” instead of är, depending on how the object is situated:

Bussen är där borta. – neutral: The bus is over there.
Bussen står där borta. – The bus is standing over there (more concrete, it’s standing/parked there).

For objects that lie or sit, you might see:

Boken ligger där borta. – The book is lying over there.
Stolen står där borta. – The chair is standing over there.

With a bus, är and står are both common; står can feel a bit more vivid.

How do you pronounce Bussen är där borta?

Approximate pronunciation (Swedish doesn’t match English sounds exactly):

bussen ≈ [BUS-sen]
- u like the vowel in British “book”, but a bit more fronted
- stress on the first syllable: BUS-sen
är ≈ [air] but shorter and flatter
där ≈ [dair] (again, short, flat vowel)
borta ≈ [BOR-ta]
- o like “o” in “or”, but shorter
- stress on BOR

Said together, it roughly sounds like:
BUS-sen air dair BOR-ta (with Swedish‑style short, crisp vowels).

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