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Learn Hardcore Swedish: Vi flyttar den femte december. - We are moving on December fifth.

Hardcore Swedish
/Lesson 53
/Vi flyttar den femte december.

Vi flyttar den femte december.

Word

Vi flyttar den femte december.

Meaning

We are moving on December fifth.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Swedish

Lesson

Breakdown of Vi flyttar den femte december.

Questions & Answers about Vi flyttar den femte december.

Why is flyttar in the present tense if the sentence talks about the future?

In Swedish, the present tense is very often used for a planned future action, especially when a time expression is included.

So Vi flyttar den femte december literally uses present tense, but it means something like We’re moving on the fifth of December.

This is very natural in Swedish. Compare:

Vi åker imorgon = We’re leaving tomorrow
Hon börjar på måndag = She starts on Monday

You can also use a future form such as ska flytta, but in a sentence like this, plain present tense is extremely common.

What exactly does flyttar mean here?

Here, flyttar means move in the sense of changing where you live.

So Vi flyttar means We are moving or We’re moving house/home.

The verb flytta can also be used more generally for moving something or moving from one place to another, depending on context. But in this sentence, it normally means moving residence.

Why is it den femte and not just fem?

december

December

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Because dates in Swedish usually use an ordinal number, not a cardinal number.

fem = five
femte = fifth

So Swedish says:

den femte december = the fifth of December

This is similar to formal English date wording. You are not saying five December, but the fifth of December.

Other examples:

den första januari = the first of January
den tjugonde maj = the twentieth of May

Why is den used before femte?

In Swedish, when giving a full date like this, it is common to use den + ordinal number.

So:

den femte december = the fifth of December

Here, den works a bit like the in English date expressions.

This is the standard pattern:

den första april
den sjunde juni
den trettioförsta oktober

So den is not optional in normal, careful Swedish when you say the date this way.

Why is there no word for on, as in on the fifth of December?

Because Swedish often does not use a preposition where English uses on with dates.

English:

We’re moving on the fifth of December

Swedish:

Vi flyttar den femte december

So the date expression can stand on its own without a separate word for on.

This is very common in Swedish. You can think of den femte december as already functioning as the time expression.

Can den femte december also be written with a number?

Yes. In writing, dates are very often written with numerals, for example:

den 5 december

That is still read as den femte december.

In less formal contexts, people may also write just:

5 december

But when fully spoken out, den femte december is the standard pronunciation.

Is december capitalized in Swedish?

No. In Swedish, months are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

So you write:

december
januari
måndag

not December or Januari in normal usage.

This is different from English, where month names are capitalized.

How is femte pronounced, and what kind of word is it?

Femte is the ordinal form of fem.

fem = five
femte = fifth

It is pronounced roughly like FEM-teh, with the stress on the first syllable.

A useful pattern is:

första = first
andra = second
tredje = third
fjärde = fourth
femte = fifth

So femte is simply the form you need for dates.

Is the word order in this sentence special in any way?

It is a very normal Swedish main-clause word order:

Vi = subject
flyttar = verb
den femte december = time expression

So the structure is:

subject + verb + time

This is straightforward. But remember that Swedish is a verb-second language, so if you move the time expression to the front, the verb still stays in second position:

Den femte december flyttar vi.

That is also grammatical, though less neutral in everyday use than Vi flyttar den femte december.

Could this sentence mean both We move and We are moving?

Yes. Swedish present tense often covers both ideas, and context tells you which English translation sounds best.

Vi flyttar can mean We move or We are moving
With a future date, the natural English translation is usually We’re moving

So in this sentence, We’re moving on the fifth of December is the most natural English rendering.

Would Vi ska flytta den femte december also be correct?

Yes, that is also correct.

Vi flyttar den femte december = neutral, very natural for a planned event
Vi ska flytta den femte december = also natural, with a slightly clearer sense of intention or future plan

In many everyday situations, both are possible. Swedish often prefers the simple present when the time is already clearly stated.

Can den femte december ever be ambiguous?

A little, yes. Depending on context, it can mean:

on the fifth of December as a date
or, less commonly, something like that fifth December in a more special context

But in an ordinary sentence like Vi flyttar den femte december, the normal interpretation is definitely on the fifth of December.

So for a learner, the safest understanding is simply the fifth of December / on the fifth of December.

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