Word
Barnen springer på stigen vid sjön.
Meaning
The children are running on the path by the lake.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Barnen springer på stigen vid sjön.
på
on
barnet
the child
springa
to run
vid
by (as in 'by the window')
Questions & Answers about Barnen springer på stigen vid sjön.
Why does barnen end in -en?
Because barnen is the definite plural form of barn.
The forms are:
- ett barn = a child
- barnet = the child
- barn = children
- barnen = the children
So in this sentence, barnen means the children.
A useful detail: barn is one of those Swedish nouns whose indefinite singular and indefinite plural look the same.
Why is the verb springer and not springa?
Springa is the infinitive form, meaning to run.
In a normal sentence like this, Swedish uses a finite verb, so you need the present tense form:
- att springa = to run
- springer = run / are running
So Barnen springer means The children run or The children are running, depending on context.
Why doesn’t springer change even though barnen is plural?