Word
En liten myra går på bordet.
Meaning
A small ant is walking on the table.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of En liten myra går på bordet.
en
a, an (common)
bordet
the table
gå
to go, to walk
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
Questions & Answers about En liten myra går på bordet.
Why do we use liten here instead of litet or små?
The adjective must match the noun it describes. Because "ant" is an en-word (en myra), we use the en-form of the adjective, which is liten. If it were an ett-word, we would use litet, and if there were multiple ants, we would use the plural form små.
How does går translate to "is walking"? Shouldn't there be an "is" in there?
Swedish does not have a separate "is doing" tense (the present continuous). The single word går translates to both "walks" and "is walking". You never use är (is) right next to another verb like this in Swedish!
Wait, doesn't går mean "goes"?
It can mean both! Går is the general verb for "walk" or "go by foot". When translating into English, "is walking" often sounds more natural than "goes" when describing the physical action of moving around on a surface.
Why does bordet end in "-et"?
The word for "table" is an ett-word (ett bord). To say "the table", Swedish attaches the definite article to the end of the noun, giving us bordet.