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Hon mådde bra, men hon var lite nervös.

Hon mådde bra, men hon var lite nervös.
She felt well, but she was a little nervous.
From Lesson 55:Simple past: Group 3 (-dde)·Swedish

Breakdown of Hon mådde bra, men hon var lite nervös.

vara
to be
hon
she
bra
good / well
må
to feel
men
but
lite
a little, a bit
nervös
nervous

Questions & Answers about Hon mådde bra, men hon var lite nervös.

Why does må become mådde in the past tense?
Må is a Group 3 verb. These are short verbs that end in a stressed vowel rather than the typical -a. To form the past tense (preteritum) for Group 3 verbs, you simply add the suffix -dde. So, må becomes mådde.
Why use mådde for "felt" instead of a form of the verb känna?
The verb må is used specifically for your overall physical or mental health and well-being. If you are saying you feel good, sick, or bad in a general health sense, you use må. Känna or känna sig is used for physical touch or more specific passing emotions.
Why is it lite nervös instead of liten nervös?
In this sentence, lite is used as an adverb meaning "a little bit" or "slightly" to describe how nervous she was. Liten is an adjective that means physically "small." Because we want to say "a little nervous" and not "a small nervous," we use lite.
Doesn't var mean "where"? Why does it translate to "was" here?
The word var actually has two completely different meanings in Swedish. It can be the question word "where," but here it is the irregular past tense of the verb vara (to be), meaning "was" or "were." You can always tell which one it is based on the context of the sentence.

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