Breakdown of Min syster bodde länge utomlands, men nu bor hon här.
hon
she
här
here
nu
now
bo
to live
systern
the sister
men
but
min
my (min/mitt/mina)
länge
for a long time
utomlands
abroad
Questions & Answers about Min syster bodde länge utomlands, men nu bor hon här.
Why does the verb bo change to bodde in the past tense instead of just adding -de?
Bo belongs to Group 3 verbs. These are "short verbs" whose dictionary form ends in a vowel other than -a (like bo, tro, or sy). Instead of the usual -de or -te, Group 3 verbs take the suffix -dde in the simple past tense. So, bo (to live) becomes bodde (lived).
Why is "for a long time" translated as just one word, länge? Can I use lång?
Länge is an adverb specifically used for time, meaning "for a long time". You shouldn't use lång here because lång is an adjective used for physical length (like a tall person or a long road). When describing the duration of an action like living abroad, länge is exactly what you need.
Why does the word order switch to nu bor hon instead of nu hon bor?
This is a great example of the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule! The conjunction men (but) connects two clauses. In the second clause, the time word nu (now) is placed in the first position. Because the main verb must always be in the second position, bor has to come next, which pushes the subject hon into the third spot.
Is the -s on utomlands (abroad) a possessive marker?
Not in this case. While -s usually shows possession in Swedish, on words like utomlands it is an old historical ending used to create adverbs of location or direction. You can just memorize it as a fixed word.
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