Breakdown of Köpte du kartan på flygplatsen?
du
you (singular)
köpa
to buy
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
kartan
the map
Questions & Answers about Köpte du kartan på flygplatsen?
Why is the past tense köpte with a 't' instead of a 'd'?
The verb att köpa (to buy) belongs to Group 2b. In Group 2, the past tense is usually formed by adding -de to the stem. However, because the stem köp- ends in a hard, voiceless consonant (like p, k, t, or s), it takes the suffix -te instead. It is simply much easier to pronounce köpte than 'köpde'!
Why does the sentence start with Köpte (Bought) instead of a word for 'Did'?
Swedish doesn't use auxiliary verbs like 'do' or 'did' to ask questions. Instead, you just swap the order of the subject and the verb. Putting the verb first (Köpte du...) automatically makes it a question meaning 'Did you buy...'.
How do we get kartan from the base word karta (map)?
This is the definite form, meaning 'the map'. Because en karta is an en-word that already ends in a vowel, you only need to add an -n to the end to make it definite. (If it ended in a consonant, you would add -en).
Why do we use the preposition på for 'at' the airport?