Questions & Answers about De tittar inte på huset.
Why does inte come after the verb tittar?
In simple Swedish main sentences, the verb usually needs to be in the second position. Because De (They) takes the first spot, the verb tittar (look) must take the second. The negation word inte (not) comes directly after the verb. It essentially translates as 'They look not'.
The English translation says 'are not looking', so why isn't there a Swedish word for 'are' here?
Swedish doesn't use a separate word for 'are' when describing ongoing actions, because it doesn't have an '-ing' form. The present tense tittar means both 'look' and 'are looking'. Adding a word for 'are' (like är) would be grammatically incorrect here.
How is the word De pronounced in this sentence?
Although it is spelled De, in modern spoken Swedish it is almost always pronounced as dom. If you listen to native speakers, you will hear 'Dom tittar inte på huset'.
Why is på used here if it often translates to 'on'?
While på does often mean 'on', it is also used in the set phrase tittar på, which means 'look at'. Notice how the negation word inte drops right in between the verb and the preposition: tittar inte på (are not looking at).
How does the word huset show that we are talking about 'the' house?
Hus is an 'ett' word (ett hus = a house). To say 'the house', Swedish takes that article and attaches it to the end of the noun as a suffix, turning hus into huset.
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