Breakdown of Man dricker vatten när man är törstig.
vara
to be
vattnet
the water
dricka
to drink
när
when
törstig
thirsty
man
one, you (people in general)
Questions & Answers about Man dricker vatten när man är törstig.
Why is man translated as "you" here instead of du?
In English, we often use "you" to talk about people in general (like "you win some, you lose some"). In Swedish, the generic pronoun man is used for this, much like the English word "one". If you used du here, it would sound like you are giving specific advice to the person you are talking to, rather than stating a general fact about humans.
Since man refers to people in general, why is the adjective törstig in the singular form?
Even though man refers to people in general, grammatically it acts as a singular en-word. Because of this, any adjective describing man must take the basic singular form. That's why we use törstig instead of the plural form törstiga or the ett-word form törstigt.
Wait, doesn't man mean "man" (as in an adult male)? How do I tell the difference?
Yes, the noun en man means "a man". You can tell them apart by context and because the generic pronoun man never uses an article like en (a) or den (that). If this sentence meant "A man drinks water...", it would be En man dricker vatten...
What would happen to the word order if I started the sentence with när man är törstig?
If you move the "when" clause (när man är törstig) to the start of the sentence, it counts as the first block of information. Because of the Swedish V2 rule (the verb must be the second idea), the main verb (dricker) must come right after it, pushing the subject (man) to the third spot: När man är törstig dricker man vatten.
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