Breakdown of Bilen är gammal, men den är snabb.
vara
to be
den
it (common)
bilen
the car
snabb
fast
men
but
gammal
old
Questions & Answers about Bilen är gammal, men den är snabb.
Does the word men change the word order in the second half of the sentence?
No, it doesn't. The word men (but) is a coordinating conjunction. This means it simply glues two complete, independent sentences together. The second part (den är snabb) keeps the normal subject-verb word order, just like the first part (bilen är gammal).
Why does the sentence use den for 'it' instead of det?
In Swedish, the word for 'it' depends on the gender of the noun you are replacing. Because bil (car) is an en-word (en bil), you must use den to say 'it'. If you were talking about an ett-word like ett hus (a house), you would use det instead.
Why are the adjectives written as gammal and snabb without a -t at the end?
Adjectives in Swedish change to match the noun they describe. Since bilen is an en-word, the adjectives stay in their basic dictionary form. If we were describing an ett-word, they would need a -t ending and become gammalt and snabbt.
Why is there a comma before men?
Just like in English, it is standard in Swedish to put a comma before coordinating conjunctions like men (but), och (and), or för (because) when they connect two complete thoughts that each have their own subject and verb.
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