Breakdown of Hur tänker de nya forskarna?
hur
how
ny
new
de
the (plural, before adjective)
tänka
to think (reflect)
Questions & Answers about Hur tänker de nya forskarna?
Why is tänker used here instead of tycker or tror?
In Swedish, tänker is used for the actual cognitive process of thinking or using your brain. Because we are asking about how the researchers process information or approach a problem, we use tänker. If we wanted to ask for their opinion on a specific topic, we would use tycker. If we were asking about their beliefs or guesses, we would use tror.
Why do we have both de and the -na ending on forskarna?
This is the Swedish double definite rule. When a definite noun has a descriptive adjective (like nya) in front of it, you need a standalone article (de for plural) and the definite ending on the noun itself (-na). It literally translates to "the new researchers-the".
Why is the adjective nya instead of ny or nytt?
Adjectives must match the noun they describe. Because forskarna is plural (and definite), the adjective takes the -a ending, becoming nya.
What is the base singular form of forskarna?
The singular indefinite form is en forskare (a researcher). Nouns ending in -are that describe people usually do not change their ending in the plural indefinite form (flera forskare = several researchers), but they take the ending -na for the plural definite form (forskarna = the researchers).