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Questions & Answers about Hur är lektionen?
Is hur the standard way to say 'how' in Swedish?
Yes, hur is the most common question word for 'how' when asking about the condition of something or the way something is done. You will also see it in common greetings like Hur mår du? (How are you?).
Why is the verb är placed before the subject lektionen?
This happens because of the Swedish V2 rule. In Swedish questions that start with a question word, the verb must be the second piece of information. Since the question word hur takes position one, the verb är (is) must take position two. The subject lektionen is pushed to position three.
Why does the word for lesson end in -en?
In Swedish, you do not use a separate word for 'the' like you do in English. Instead, you attach an ending directly to the noun. Because lektion (lesson) is an en-word, you add -en to the end to get lektionen (the lesson).
How do you pronounce the -tion part of lektionen?
Words ending in -tion in Swedish use a special 'sj' sound. It sounds like a breathy 'sh' or 'hwsh' sound. It is somewhat similar to the 'sh' in the English word 'action', but usually softer and made slightly further back in the mouth.