Questions & Answers about Bakar vännen alltid kakan?
Where is the word for 'Does' in this question?
Swedish doesn't use helper verbs like 'do' or 'does' to make questions! Instead, you just move the verb to the very front of the sentence. Starting with Bakar literally translates to 'Bakes the friend always the cake?', which is how Swedish asks 'Does the friend always bake the cake?'.
Why is alltid placed after vännen?
In a regular Swedish statement, an adverb like alltid (always) goes after the verb: Vännen bakar alltid kakan. But to make a yes/no question, the verb (bakar) jumps to the front. The subject (vännen) and the adverb (alltid) just shift down, leaving the adverb right after the subject.
How do we know it means 'the friend' and 'the cake' just from vännen and kakan?
Swedish usually doesn't use a separate word for 'the'. Instead, it attaches a definite ending to the end of the noun. En vän (a friend) becomes vännen (the friend), and en kaka (a cake) becomes kakan (the cake).
Can bakar also mean 'is baking'?
Yes! Swedish doesn't have a separate 'is doing' tense like English. Bakar can mean 'bakes', 'is baking', or 'does bake'. So this sentence could also translate to 'Is the friend always baking the cake?'.
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