Breakdown of Hunden springer på den långa stranden.
hunden
the dog
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
springa
to run
lång
long / tall
den
the (with en-words)
stranden
the beach
Questions & Answers about Hunden springer på den långa stranden.
Why does this sentence say den långa stranden instead of just långa stranden?
When a definite noun has an adjective, Swedish uses double definiteness. You must use the standalone article den (the) before the adjective, while also keeping the definite ending -en on the noun. It literally translates to 'the long the beach'.
Why does the adjective lång have an -a at the end here?
Because it comes after the definite article den, the adjective must be in its definite form. For most Swedish adjectives, you just add an -a to the end to make it definite.
How do we know whether to use den or det before långa stranden?
It depends on the gender of the noun. Strand is an en-word, which you can tell because its definite ending is -en in stranden. Therefore, it takes the en-word article den. If the noun were an ett-word, you would use det.
Could Hunden springer also mean 'The dog is running'?
Yes! Swedish does not have a continuous tense like English. The present tense springer covers both 'runs' and 'is running', so you can translate it either way depending on the context.
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