Breakdown of Vi reser till Sverige tre gånger om året.
vi
we
resa
to travel
till
to (direction, destination)
året
the year
Questions & Answers about Vi reser till Sverige tre gånger om året.
Why do we use om here instead of i for 'a year'?
In Swedish frequency expressions, the preposition depends on the time word. For days and years, we use om (om dagen, om året). For weeks and months, we use i (i veckan, i månaden). Since this sentence talks about a year, om is the correct choice.
Why is it året (the year) with a definite ending, when the English translation says 'a year'?
In Swedish, time expressions for frequency always use the definite form of the noun. So 'a year' becomes året (the year), 'a day' becomes dagen (the day), and so on.
What is the singular form of gånger, and how do I know it means 'times' here?
The singular is en gång (one time/once). While en gång can sometimes refer to a physical path or aisle, in the context of numbers and frequency like tre gånger, it always translates to 'times'.
Could I say per år instead of om året in this sentence?
Yes, you can! Tre gånger per år is perfectly correct and very common, especially in written or slightly formal Swedish. However, om året is the more traditional, everyday way to express it in spoken Swedish.