Questions & Answers about Vittnet såg inget i julas.
Why does jul have an -s at the end in i julas?
When talking about the most recent holiday or season in the past, Swedish uses the preposition i and adds an -s to the noun. So jul (Christmas) becomes i julas (last Christmas). You will see this pattern a lot, for example i våras (last spring).
Is it wrong to say förra julen to mean "last Christmas"?
It is not grammatically wrong, and people will definitely understand you! However, i julas is a specific fixed expression for past time and is the most natural, common way a native Swede would say it.
Why use inget for "nothing" here instead of ingenting?
When used on their own to mean "nothing", inget and ingenting mean exactly the same thing and can usually be swapped. Inget is simply a shorter, slightly more casual alternative that is very common in everyday speech.
What is the base form of vittnet?
The base word is ett vittne (a witness). Because it is an ett-word (a neuter noun) that already ends in a vowel, you just add a -t to the end to make it the definite form vittnet (the witness).