Learn Swedish: Kostar jackan femtio? - Does the jacket cost fifty?

Kostar jackan femtio?

Does the jacket cost fifty?

Breakdown of Kostar jackan femtio?

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Questions & Answers about Kostar jackan femtio?

Why does this sentence start with the verb Kostar instead of a word for "does"?

Swedish doesn't use words like "do" or "does" to form questions. Instead, you just put the verb first. By starting the sentence with Kostar (costs), it automatically becomes a yes/no question. It literally translates to "Costs the jacket fifty?".

The dictionary word for jacket is jacka. Why is it written as jackan here?

In Swedish, the word for "the" isn't a separate word that goes before the noun. Instead, it is attached as a suffix to the end of the noun. Because en jacka (a jacket) is an en-word that ends in a vowel, you just add an -n to the end to make it jackan (the jacket).

How is femtio pronounced? Should I pronounce the "o" at the end?

In everyday spoken Swedish, the -o at the end of tens numbers (like 20, 30, 40, and 50) is almost always silent. Even though it is spelled femtio, you will hear native speakers pronounce it as "femti".

Is it grammatically correct to leave out the word for Swedish crowns (kronor)?

Yes, it is perfectly fine! Just like in English where we can simply ask "Does it cost fifty?" when standing in a store, Swedes frequently drop the word kronor when it is completely obvious from the context that you are talking about price.