Breakdown of Vilka generösa presenter ni gav oss!
ni
you (plural, subject)
oss
us
vilka
which (plural)
ge
to give
Questions & Answers about Vilka generösa presenter ni gav oss!
Why do we use Vilka at the start of this sentence?
We use Vilka to mean 'What' in an exclamation. It must match the noun it describes, which in this case is the plural word presenter (gifts). Because the noun is plural, we use the plural form vilka instead of the singular vilken or vilket.
Why is the word order 'ni gav' instead of 'gav ni'?
If this were a question asking 'What generous gifts did you give us?', the verb would swap places with the subject: gav ni. But because this is an exclamation stating 'What generous gifts you gave us!', it uses a different rule where the subject stays before the verb: ni gav.
Why does the adjective 'generösa' end in an 'a' here?
The adjective generös (generous) gets an -a ending because it is describing a plural noun (presenter). In Swedish, adjectives describing plural nouns almost always end in -a, whether the noun is definite (the gifts) or indefinite (gifts).
I don't recognize the word 'gav'. What is the basic form of this verb?
Gav is the past tense of the irregular verb ge (to give). So the phrase ni gav oss simply means 'you gave us'.