Questions & Answers about Hur var vädret i Sverige?
Is var the past tense for all subjects, like "I", "you", and "the weather"?
Yes! var means "was" or "were" and is the simple past tense of vara (to be). Unlike English, Swedish verbs do not change depending on who or what you are talking about. You use var for everything, so "the weather was" is simply vädret var.
Why does the word for weather end in -et here?
vädret means "the weather". In Swedish, the word for "the" attaches to the end of the noun rather than sitting in front of it. Because väder is an ett-word, we add -et to the end to make it definite.
Why is the verb var placed right after Hur?
This is because of the Swedish V2 rule, which says the verb is usually the second piece of information in a sentence. The question word Hur (How) takes up the first position, so the verb var must come immediately next.
How do you pronounce the g in Sverige?
In the word Sverige (Sweden), the g sounds like an English "y". It is pronounced roughly like "Sver-yeh". In Swedish, g often softens to a "y" sound, and this country name is one of the most common examples you will hear.