Breakdown of De smutsiga knivarna var i lådan.
vara
to be
i
in
smutsig
dirty
de
the (plural, before adjective)
lådan
the box
kniven
the knife
Questions & Answers about De smutsiga knivarna var i lådan.
Why does this sentence use both the word De and the ending -na on knivarna?
This is a classic feature of Swedish called 'double definiteness.' When you have a definite noun (meaning you are saying 'the') and it has an adjective describing it, you must use both the standalone word for 'the' (De for plural words) AND the definite ending on the noun itself (-na in knivarna).
Why does the adjective smutsiga end in an -a?
In Swedish, adjectives get an -a added to the end whenever they are plural (more than one) or definite (using 'the'). Since smutsiga is both plural and definite in this sentence, it must take the -a ending instead of its base dictionary form, smutsig.
How is the word knivarna (the knives) formed from the base word kniv?
En kniv is an en-word. To make it plural ('knives'), you add -ar, giving you knivar. To make it 'the knives', you then add the definite plural ending -na to that, resulting in knivarna.
Why is it lådan instead of låda at the end of the sentence?
Lådan is the definite form ('the box'), while en låda just means 'a box'. Because låda is an en-word that already ends in a vowel, you simply add an -n to the end to make it definite.
Does Swedish use the same word for 'was' and 'were'?
Yes! Var is the past tense of är (to be). Because Swedish verbs do not change depending on who or what is doing the action, var covers both 'was' and 'were'. You say jag var (I was) and knivarna var (the knives were).
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