Questions & Answers about Vattnet i havet är ibland kallt.
Why does ibland come after är instead of before it?
In a standard Swedish sentence, adverbs of frequency like ibland (sometimes) are placed right after the verb. Since the verb here is är, ibland must follow it. English often puts these adverbs before the verb, but Swedish is strict about this order.
Does the extra detail i havet push the verb är into the third position?
No, Swedish follows a strict verb-second rule where the verb must be the second block of information. The entire phrase Vattnet i havet (The water in the sea) acts together as a single block representing the subject. Because of this, är is still correctly in the second position.
Why is there a -t at the end of the word kallt?
The adjective kallt (cold) is describing vattnet (the water). Because vatten is an ett-word, any adjective describing it needs to match by taking a -t at the end. That makes the base word kall become kallt.
The word for water is vatten, so why is it spelled vattnet here?