Breakdown of De skänker bort sina gamla kläder.
de
they
kläderna
the clothes
gammal
old
sina
his/her/its/their own (plural)
skänka bort
to give away
Questions & Answers about De skänker bort sina gamla kläder.
How do I pronounce skänker bort? Where does the stress go?
Skänker bort is a particle verb (a verb plus a small word that changes its meaning). In Swedish, the stress always falls heavily on the particle, not the verb! So you should put the emphasis on bort, saying 'skänker BORT'.
Does the particle bort have to come right after the verb skänker?
In a standard main clause like this one, yes. Unlike English, where you can split them and say 'giving their clothes away', in Swedish you keep the verb and its particle together before the object: skänker bort sina gamla kläder.
Why does the sentence use sina instead of deras for 'their'?
Because the subject de (they) are giving away their own clothes. When the subject of the sentence owns the object being talked about, you must use the reflexive pronoun. If you used deras, it would mean they are giving away someone else's clothes! We use the plural form sina because kläder is plural.
Why is the adjective gamla and not gammal?
Because kläder (clothes) is a plural noun, so the adjective must take the plural ending -a. Additionally, possessive words like sina trigger the definite form of the adjective, which also ends in -a.
Could I say ger bort instead of skänker bort?
Yes, ger bort also translates to 'giving away'. The verb skänker has a slightly more specific meaning of 'donating' or giving something as a charitable gift, which is exactly what you usually do with old clothes.
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