Questions & Answers about Vi bor i staden.
Why does the verb bor only have an -r at the end, instead of -ar or -er?
Bor belongs to a special group of short verbs. Unlike most Swedish verbs that end in -a in their basic dictionary form, these end in other vowels, like att bo (to live). To make them present tense, you just add an -r to the end.
Does bor mean "live" as in being alive, or "live" as in residing somewhere?
It specifically means "live" as in to reside or have your home somewhere. If you want to talk about "living" as in being alive, Swedish uses a completely different verb: lever.
Where is the word for "the" in this sentence?
In Swedish, the word for "the" isn't a separate word before the noun—it gets attached to the end! The basic word for "city" is en stad. To say "the city", you attach -en to the end, making it staden.
Why do we use the preposition i (in) here? Could I use på (on) instead?
When talking about where your home is located within a city, you use i staden (in the city) because a city is treated as an enclosed geographic area. You will sometimes hear people say they are på stan (a shortened form of staden), but that means they are "out on the town" running errands or socializing, not where they reside.