Breakdown of Mannen spelar aldrig fotboll nu.
spela
to play
fotboll
football
nu
now
mannen
the man
aldrig
never
Questions & Answers about Mannen spelar aldrig fotboll nu.
Why is the time word nu placed at the very end of the sentence?
In Swedish, time words like nu (now), idag (today), and imorgon (tomorrow) usually go at the very end of a basic sentence. They can also go at the very beginning if you want to emphasize the time, but they rarely go in the middle.
If I start the sentence with nu instead, does the word order change?
Why does aldrig come before fotboll?
The word aldrig (never) is a sentence adverb. In a normal main sentence, these types of adverbs go right after the verb (spelar) and before the object (fotboll).
Does spelar mean "plays" or "is playing"?
It can mean both! Swedish does not have a separate continuous tense like English does. Depending on the context, spelar translates to either "plays" or "is playing". In this sentence, "plays" fits best because of the word aldrig (never).
A quick refresher: why is the word Mannen and not just Man?
In Swedish, "the" is expressed by adding a specific ending to the noun rather than a separate word before it. En man means "a man", and adding the -en ending gives us mannen, which means "the man".
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