Breakdown of Hennes familj bodde på gården innan de åkte utomlands.
familjen
the family
de
they
bo
to live
åka
to go, to travel, to leave
Questions & Answers about Hennes familj bodde på gården innan de åkte utomlands.
Why does the past tense of bo have a double-d in bodde?
Bo belongs to Group 3, which is made up of short verbs that end in a vowel other than -a. To form the past tense (preteritum) for these verbs, you add -dde to the stem. So, bo becomes bodde.
Why do we use the preposition på before gården?
In Swedish, you typically live "on" a farm (på en gård), just like in English. If you used i (in), it would sound like they lived inside a fenced courtyard or yard, rather than residing at the rural property as a whole.
How should I pronounce de in this sentence?
Even though it is spelled de, it is almost always pronounced as dom in spoken Swedish. You will usually hear native speakers say "innan dom åkte".
Why does utomlands end with an -s? Is it plural or possessive?
Neither! The -s at the end of utomlands (abroad) is an adverbial ending. It is an old way of turning a noun or phrase into an adverb in Swedish. You will see this same -s ending in other location words like utomhus (outdoors).
Why is the past tense of spelled and not ?