Breakdown of Skjortan är Eriks, men tårtan är Marias.
vara
to be
men
but
Erik
Erik
Maria
Maria
skjortan
the shirt
tårtan
the cake (layered, with cream/frosting)
Questions & Answers about Skjortan är Eriks, men tårtan är Marias.
Why isn't there an apostrophe in Eriks and Marias?
In Swedish, the possessive 's' (which shows ownership) is attached directly to the name or noun without an apostrophe. So, 'Erik's' is always written as Eriks, and 'Maria's' is Marias.
Why do skjortan and tårtan end in -n?
That -n at the end makes them definite, meaning 'the'. En skjorta is 'a shirt', but skjortan is 'the shirt'. Both of these are 'en-words' that end in a vowel, so they just get an -n at the end to say 'the'.
If I want to say 'Maria's cake', do I write Marias tårtan?
No, you would write Marias tårta. When a noun comes right after a possessive word like Marias, the noun must be in the indefinite form (without the -n at the end). But in our sentence here, the noun and the owner are separated by the verb är, so 'the cake' (tårtan) keeps its definite form.
Can you just end the sentence with Marias like that?
Yes! Just like in English, you can leave out the noun if it's already obvious. 'The cake is Maria's' translates perfectly to Tårtan är Marias. You don't need to add anything after the name.
Learn Skjortan är Eriks, men tårtan är Marias and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free