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Learn Hardcore Swedish: Vem är skyldig? - Who is guilty?

Hardcore Swedish
/Watching a football match with friends
/Vem är skyldig?

Vem är skyldig?

Word

Vem är skyldig?

Meaning

Who is guilty?

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Swedish

Lesson

Watching a football match with friends

Breakdown of Vem är skyldig?

who (in a question)

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Questions & Answers about Vem är skyldig?

Why does Swedish use är here instead of a separate helping verb like English is in Who is guilty?

Because är is simply the Swedish present-tense form of the verb vara, which means to be.

So the sentence is built very directly:

vem = who
är = is
skyldig = guilty / at fault / liable

Unlike English, Swedish does not need do for this kind of question. It just uses the normal verb to be.

Is vem used exactly like English who?

Yes, in this sentence it works very much like English who.

Vem is the interrogative pronoun used for people:

Vem är det? = Who is it?
Vem kommer? = Who is coming?
Vem är skyldig? = Who is guilty? / Who is at fault?

A useful thing to remember is that Swedish does not change vem the way English sometimes changes who/whom in formal usage. Swedish just uses vem.

Why is the word order Vem är skyldig?

This is normal Swedish question word order.

In a question with a question word, Swedish usually has:

question word + verb + subject/complement

Here:

Vem = question word
är = verb
skyldig = predicative adjective

So Vem är skyldig? is the expected structure.

Notice that this is similar to English Who is guilty?, but unlike English, Swedish often keeps the finite verb in the second position in many clause types. In a short question like this, that naturally gives vem + är.

What kind of word is skyldig?

Skyldig is an adjective.

In this sentence, it is used predicatively, meaning it comes after är and describes the person referred to by vem.

Compare:

Han är skyldig. = He is guilty.
Hon är skyldig. = She is guilty.

Because it is describing a person after är, it functions like an adjective in He is tired or She is happy.

Does skyldig only mean guilty?

Not always. Skyldig can have a few related meanings depending on context.

Common meanings include:

guilty
at fault
liable
owing or indebted in some contexts

For example:

Han är skyldig till brottet. = He is guilty of the crime.
Vem är skyldig? = Who is guilty? / Who is at fault?
Jag är skyldig dig pengar. = I owe you money.

So in your sentence, the exact English translation depends on context, even if the general meaning is already known.

Why is there no article before skyldig?

Because skyldig is not being used before a noun. It is a predicative adjective, not an attributive one.

Compare:

Han är skyldig. = He is guilty.
Here, skyldig stands after är and describes han.
den skyldige mannen = the guilty man
Here, skyldige comes before a noun and is part of a noun phrase.

So in Vem är skyldig?, no article is needed.

Does skyldig change form?

Yes, adjectives in Swedish can change form, although in this sentence you see the basic common form skyldig.

Some forms are:

skyldig — common gender singular
skyldigt — neuter singular
skyldiga — plural / definite contexts

Examples:

Mannen är skyldig. = The man is guilty.
Brottet är skyldigt would be incorrect, because skyldig normally describes a person or party in a meaningful way, not a neuter noun like that.
De är skyldiga. = They are guilty.

In practice, with vem, you get skyldig because the question refers to a person, and the standard citation form is used.

How is är pronounced?

Är is usually pronounced roughly like air, but shorter and with a Swedish vowel quality.

A rough guide for English speakers is:

är ≈ air without strongly pronouncing the r in some accents

In everyday spoken Swedish, är is often pronounced quite lightly, and in fast speech it may sound reduced.

If you are reading carefully, saying something close to air is a good start.

How is skyldig pronounced?

A rough pronunciation guide is:

SHYL-dig

But there are a few important details:

sk before y is pronounced like sh
y is a Swedish vowel that does not exist exactly in English
the g in -dig is pronounced as a hard g

A rough learner-friendly approximation is:

SHYL-dig

But the vowel in y is not the same as English y in my. It is a rounded front vowel. Many learners need practice with this sound.

Could this sentence mean Who is responsible? as well as Who is guilty?

Yes, depending on context, it can suggest Who is responsible?, Who is to blame?, or Who is at fault?

That is because skyldig is broader than just legal guilty. It can also refer to blame or responsibility.

For example:

in a legal context: Who is guilty?
after an accident: Who is at fault?
in a conflict: Who is to blame?

So learners should not always translate it mechanically as only guilty.

How would you make this sentence negative?

You would usually add inte after the verb:

Vem är inte skyldig? = Who is not guilty?

This shows a common Swedish rule: in a main clause, inte usually comes after the finite verb.

So:

Han är skyldig. = He is guilty.
Han är inte skyldig. = He is not guilty.
Vem är skyldig? = Who is guilty?
Vem är inte skyldig? = Who is not guilty?

Can you also say Vem är den skyldige?

Yes, but it is not exactly the same in tone or usage.

Vem är skyldig? is the most natural general question: Who is guilty? / Who is at fault?
Vem är den skyldige? sounds more like Who is the guilty one? or Who is the culprit?

The second version is more specific and a bit more formal or pointed. It refers to a particular guilty person as the guilty one.

So for a basic neutral question, Vem är skyldig? is usually the best choice.

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