Learn Hardcore Swedish: De pratar länge om sin vänskap och försöker hitta en metod som minskar risken för nya konflikter. - They talk for a long time about their friendship and try to find a method that reduces the risk of new conflicts.

sin / sitt / sina = “his/her/their own” (refers back to the subject of the same clause)
deras = “their” (refers to some other group, not the subject)

In De pratar länge om sin vänskap:

subject: De (they)
possessive: sin (their own)
noun: vänskap (friendship)

So sin vänskap means their own friendship (the friendship between them).

If you said De pratar länge om deras vänskap, it would usually mean they are talking for a long time about someone else’s friendship (the friendship of some third group).

Why is it sin vänskap and not sitt vänskap or sina vänskap?

The form of sin depends on the grammatical gender and number of the possessed noun:

sin – for en-words (common gender), singular
- en vänskap → sin vänskap
sitt – for ett-words (neuter), singular
- ett problem → sitt problem
sina – for plural nouns
- vänner → sina vänner

Since vänskap is an en-word in the singular (en vänskap), the correct form is sin vänskap.

Why is there no article in sin vänskap? Why not sin vänskapen?

Abstract nouns in Swedish (like vänskap, friendship) are often used without an article when you talk about the concept in a general way:

vänskap = friendship (in general)
sin vänskap = their friendship (as a general quality/relationship between them)

If you say vänskapen (“the friendship”), you are making it more specific and definite, for example:

De vill rädda vänskapen.
They want to save the friendship.

In this sentence, the focus is on the type of relationship they have, so sin vänskap (indefinite) is natural.

Why is it just pratar and försöker in the present tense? In English we would say “are talking” / “are trying”.

Swedish doesn’t have a separate “-ing” form like English. The simple present tense covers both:

De pratar.
→ They talk. / They are talking.
De försöker.
→ They try. / They are trying.

If you want to stress that something is happening right now, you can add an adverbial, but you still use the same verb form:

De pratar just nu. = They are talking right now.

So De pratar länge naturally corresponds to English They are talking for a long time in context.

Why is the adverb länge placed after pratar? Could I say De pratar om sin vänskap länge instead?

The normal position for many adverbs in Swedish is after the finite verb:

De pratar länge. – They talk for a long time.

In your sentence, länge comes after the verb and before the prepositional phrase:

De pratar länge om sin vänskap.

You can say:

De pratar om sin vänskap länge.

This is also grammatically correct. The difference is mainly rhythm and emphasis:

De pratar länge om sin vänskap.
→ The long duration is highlighted early: they talk for a long time about their friendship.
De pratar om sin vänskap länge.
→ First we hear the topic, then we find out it goes on for a long time.

Both are possible. The original word order is very typical and natural.

What is the difference between pratar and talar? Could I say De talar länge om sin vänskap?

Yes, you can say De talar länge om sin vänskap. The main difference is style:

prata – more colloquial / everyday (“to talk, chat”)
tala – a bit more formal or neutral (“to speak, talk”)

In everyday spoken Swedish, pratar is more common. In formal contexts, speeches, or written language, talar may sound slightly more formal:

Han talar inför riksdagen. – He is speaking in front of the parliament.
Vi pratar om helgen. – We’re talking about the weekend.

In your sentence, both verbs work, but pratar fits the informal tone of two people talking about their friendship.

Why is it pratar om? How does om work here?

In this context om means “about”, just like in English talk about:

prata om något – to talk about something
- De pratar om sin vänskap. – They talk about their friendship.
- Vi pratade om filmen. – We talked about the film.

So om is simply the preposition that goes with prata when you want to express the topic of conversation. Other prepositions (like kring) can occur in special contexts, but the standard pattern is prata om + topic.

Why is there no att between försöker and hitta?

Some verbs in Swedish are followed directly by an infinitive without att, especially common “auxiliary-like” verbs such as:

kan (can)
vill (want)
ska (shall, will)
måste (must)
bör (ought to)
brukar (usually)
får (may, is allowed to)
försöker (tries)

So you say:

De försöker hitta en metod. – They are trying to find a method.
Hon vill hitta en lösning. – She wants to find a solution.
Vi kan börja nu. – We can start now.

With many other verbs, you do need att:

De planerar att hitta en metod. – They are planning to find a method.
Han lovade att komma. – He promised to come.

How does en metod som minskar risken work? What does som do here?

Som is a relative pronoun, equivalent to English “that / which / who”. It introduces a relative clause describing the noun before it.

Structure:

en metod – a method
som minskar risken – that reduces the risk

So:

en metod som minskar risken
= a method *that reduces the risk*

More examples:

en person som hjälper oss – a person who helps us
en bok som jag tycker om – a book that I like
ett program som fungerar – a program that works

The verb minskar is just the present tense form of minska (“to reduce, decrease”).

Why is it risken and not risk or en risk? And what does för mean in risken för nya konflikter?

Here, risken is in the definite singular:

risk – risk (indefinite)
en risk – a risk
risken – the risk

Swedish often uses the definite form in such patterns:

risken för något – the risk of something
- risken för nya konflikter – the risk of new conflicts
- risken för cancer – the risk of cancer
- risken för olyckor – the risk of accidents

The preposition för here corresponds to English “of”:

risken för X = the risk of X

So miskar risken för nya konflikter literally means “reduces the risk for new conflicts”, but idiomatically: “reduces the risk of new conflicts.”

Why is it nya konflikter and not ny konflikter or nya konflikt?

Two things are going on: plural and adjective agreement.

konflikt is a countable noun:
- singular: en konflikt – a conflict
- plural: konflikter – conflicts
The adjective ny (new) changes form according to the noun:

en ny konflikt – a new conflict (singular, common gender)
ett nytt problem – a new problem (singular, neuter)
nya konflikter – new conflicts (plural)
nya problem – new problems (plural)

So for plural, the adjective is nya, and the noun is konflikter, giving:

nya konflikter = new conflicts

Note that nya is used for all plural forms with an adjective, both indefinite and definite:

nya konflikter – new conflicts
de nya konflikterna – the new conflicts

Could the word order be De pratar om sin vänskap länge och försöker hitta...? Is that still correct?

Yes, De pratar om sin vänskap länge is grammatically correct. Both:

De pratar länge om sin vänskap.
De pratar om sin vänskap länge.

are acceptable.

General points about word order:

Subject usually comes first: De
Finite verb second: pratar
Then adverbs and other information.

The difference is mostly focus and flow:

pratar länge om sin vänskap – slightly more neutral/typical; the adverb länge is closely tied to the verb pratar.
pratar om sin vänskap länge – emphasizes the topic earlier, then the duration.

In everyday usage, the original version (pratar länge om sin vänskap) sounds very natural.

How is de pronounced here? I often hear dom.

In spoken Swedish, both de and dem are usually pronounced /dom/, written dom in informal writing.

Written: De pratar länge om sin vänskap.
Spoken: Dom pratar länge om sin vänskap.

In standard written Swedish, you should still write:

de for subject form (they)
dem for object form (them)

But in everyday conversation, you will almost always hear dom regardless of function.