Breakdown of Hur mycket tjänar du i timmen?
du
you (singular)
mycket
much / very
hur
how
timmen
the hour
tjäna
to earn
i
per, a (frequency)
Questions & Answers about Hur mycket tjänar du i timmen?
Why does it use i timmen instead of om timmen to say "an hour"?
In Swedish, when talking about frequency (how often something happens), we use i for some time periods and om for others. You use i for minutes, hours, weeks, and months (like i veckan or i månaden). You use om for days and years (om dagen, om året). Since we are talking about an hour, it has to be i.
Why is it timmen (the hour) instead of en timme (an hour)?
When using i or om to talk about frequency, Swedish always uses the definite (the "the") form of the time word. So while in English you say "per hour" or "an hour", Swedish literally says "in the hour" (i timmen).
Why does the verb tjänar come before the subject du?
This is a great reminder of the V2 (verb-second) rule! In a Swedish sentence, the verb must be in the second position. The entire question phrase Hur mycket (How much) counts as the first position, so the verb tjänar has to come right after it, pushing the subject du to the third position.
Why do we use Hur mycket instead of Hur många?
Hur mycket means "how much" and is used for uncountable things (like money, water, or time). Hur många means "how many" and is for things you can count individually (like coins or people). Since you are asking about an overall amount of money you earn, Hur mycket is correct.
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