Breakdown of Är de stora lådorna Lars presenter?
vara
to be
stor
big
de
the (plural, before adjective)
lådan
the box
presenten
the gift
Lars
Lars
Questions & Answers about Är de stora lådorna Lars presenter?
Why do we use both de and -na in de stora lådorna?
This is Swedish double definiteness. When a plural noun has an adjective before it, you must use the free plural article de (the) AND the definite noun ending -na. It literally translates to "the big the boxes."
Why doesn't Lars have an apostrophe for "Lars's"?
Swedish never uses apostrophes to show ownership. Usually, you just add an s to the end of the name. However, if a name already ends in s (like Lars), you don't add anything at all. The name stays exactly the same!
Since we mean "Lars's gifts," why is it presenter and not the definite presenterna?
In Swedish, you always use the indefinite form of a noun after a possessive word. Because Lars claims ownership here, the noun must be the indefinite presenter (gifts), not the definite presenterna (the gifts).
Why does the sentence start with Är (Are)?
Just like in English, Swedish forms yes/no questions by putting the verb first. The statement would be De stora lådorna är... (The big boxes are...), and the question swaps them to Är de stora lådorna...? (Are the big boxes...?).
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