Connecting Ideas: och, men, and eller
To build longer and more expressive sentences, you can link words or complete thoughts using coordinating conjunctions. These are simple connector words that join two equal parts of a sentence together.
- och (and) connects similar ideas or adds information.
- men (but) introduces a contrast.
- eller (or) presents a choice or alternative.
This lesson introduces the adjectives hungrig (hungry) and törstig (thirsty) to help you practice these connections.
| Today I am tired and thirsty. | Idag är jag trött och törstig. |
| I am hungry, but I do not want to eat. | Jag är hungrig, men jag vill inte äta. |
| Are you hungry or thirsty? | Är du hungrig eller törstig? |
Describing Things: New Adjectives
You will also learn a few common adjectives for describing items: gammal (old), ny (new), billig (cheap), and dyr (expensive).
Notice how these adjectives still agree with the noun's gender and number, even when they are part of a longer, connected sentence.
| The car is old, but it is fast. | Bilen är gammal, men den är snabb. |
| Is the book expensive or cheap? | Är boken dyr eller billig? |
| We want to buy a new and cheap bed. | Vi vill köpa en ny och billig säng. |
Giving Reasons with för
When you want to explain why something happens, use the conjunction för (because).
In Swedish, för acts as a coordinating conjunction. This means it links two complete, independent sentences without changing the word order. The statement following för keeps its standard Subject + Verb order.
| The boy is crying, because he is hungry. | Pojken gråter, för han är hungrig. |
| We are not buying the house, because it is expensive. | Vi köper inte huset, för det är dyrt. |