Breakdown of Nu har tjuven försvunnit i skogen.
nu
now
i
in
ha
to have
skogen
the forest
tjuven
the thief
försvinna
to disappear
Questions & Answers about Nu har tjuven försvunnit i skogen.
Why does the verb försvunnit end in -it?
Försvunnit is the supine form of the verb försvinna (to disappear). It belongs to Group 4, which consists of strong verbs. For Group 4 verbs, the supine form (the form used after har or hade) always ends in -it.
Wait, the infinitive is försvinna, but the supine is försvunnit. Why did the vowel change?
Group 4 verbs are "strong," meaning they often change their core vowel in different tenses instead of just adding a regular ending. For försvinna, the vowel pattern changes from i in the infinitive to a in the past tense (försvann), and to u in the supine (försvunnit).
Why is the word order har tjuven instead of tjuven har?
This is a great example of the Swedish V2 rule, which states that the verb must come second in a main clause. Because the sentence starts with the time word Nu (Now), the verb har must take the second spot, pushing the subject tjuven (the thief) into the third position.
How do we know it means "the" thief and "the" forest?
Both tjuv (thief) and skog (forest) are regular en-words. To make them definite (to mean "the"), you add the suffix -en to the end of the word, which gives us tjuven and skogen.
Learn Nu har tjuven försvunnit i skogen and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free