Questions & Answers about Alla barnen äter äpplena.
How do we get barnen (the children) from the singular word barn?
Barn is an ett word that ends in a consonant (ett barn). These words don't change in the indefinite plural (one child = ett barn, two children = två barn). To make them definite plural ("the children"), you add -en to the end, giving us barnen.
If äpple is also an ett word, why is "the apples" äpplena instead of "äppleen"?
Because äpple ends in a vowel (ett äpple). Ett words that end in a vowel usually get an -n in the plural (äpplen = apples). To make them definite ("the apples"), you add -a to that plural form. So, äpplen + -a becomes äpplena.
I see alla (all) is used with barnen (the children). Does alla always take a definite noun?
When you are talking about a specific group (like "all the children" in a room), you use alla + the definite plural noun. If you meant "all children" in general (like "all children like candy"), you would use the indefinite plural instead: alla barn. Here, we are talking about a specific group eating specific apples!
Why is there no word for "are" in äter äpplena (are eating the apples)?
Swedish doesn't have a separate "is/are doing" (continuous) tense like English does. The single present tense verb äter covers both "eat" and "are eating". You just use the one verb and figure out which translation sounds best in English based on the context.
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