Word
Du älskar inte hunden.
Meaning
You do not love the dog.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Du älskar inte hunden.
Why does inte come after älskar in this sentence?
In simple Swedish main clauses, the negative word inte always comes immediately after the verb. While in English you say 'do not love', Swedish literally says 'love not' (älskar inte).
Where is the word for 'do' in this sentence?
Swedish does not use a helper verb like 'do' or 'does' to make a sentence negative. You simply take the main verb (älskar) and put inte right after it.
Why is the word for 'the dog' hunden instead of just hund?
In Swedish, the word for 'the' is attached to the end of the noun as a suffix, rather than being a separate word in front. Hund means 'a dog', and adding -en to the end makes it hunden, which means 'the dog'.
Why does the verb älskar end with an -r?
The -r at the end of the verb shows that it is in the present tense, meaning it is happening right now or generally. The dictionary form is älska (to love), and älskar means 'love' or 'loves'.