Log inSign up

Hunden är trött och vilar i sängen.

Hunden är trött och vilar i sängen.
The dog is tired and rests in the bed.
From Lesson 11:The infinitive marker (att)·Swedish

Breakdown of Hunden är trött och vilar i sängen.

vara
to be
och
and
hunden
the dog
trött
tired
i
in
sängen
the bed
vila
to rest

Questions & Answers about Hunden är trött och vilar i sängen.

Why does the sentence use vilar instead of the infinitive form vila?
Because the dog is actively resting right now. Vilar is the present tense ("rests" or "is resting"). You would use the infinitive base form vila (often with the marker att) if another verb came first. For example, to say "The dog likes to rest", you would use the infinitive: Hunden gillar att vila.
Why doesn't the sentence say "och är vilar" for "and is resting"?
Swedish doesn't use "is" (är) to show that an action is happening right now. The present tense verb vilar translates to both "rests" and "is resting" all on its own. Adding är before an action verb is a common trap for English speakers!
Why do both hunden and sängen end in -en?
In Swedish, the word for "the" is usually attached to the end of the noun as a suffix. Hund means "dog" and säng means "bed". Since they are both "en-words", adding -en to the end makes them definite: "the dog" (hunden) and "the bed" (sängen).
Would the word trött (tired) change if there were two dogs?
Yes! Adjectives must match their noun. Because hunden is a single dog, we use the singular form trött. If we were talking about multiple dogs, we would add an -a to the end of the adjective: Hundarna är trötta (The dogs are tired).

Learn Hunden är trött och vilar i sängen and more in Swedish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Swedish →