Breakdown of Det finns en toalett i simhallen bredvid parkeringen.
en
a, an (common)
i
in
det finns
there is, there are
bredvid
next to
parkeringen
the parking lot
toaletten
the toilet
simhallen
the indoor swimming pool
Questions & Answers about Det finns en toalett i simhallen bredvid parkeringen.
Why do we use det finns to say "there is"? Can I say där är?
Det finns literally translates to "it is found" or "it exists". It is the standard way to say "there is" or "there are" in Swedish when simply stating that something exists. If you say där är, it means "over there is", which you would only use if you were physically pointing at the toilet's location.
Is simhallen a compound word?
Yes! It is made of sim (related to att simma, to swim) and hall (hall or indoor arena). Swedish uses simhall specifically for indoor swimming pools. The -en at the end makes it definite, meaning "the indoor swimming pool".
Why is it i simhallen instead of på simhallen?
Because a simhall is an enclosed physical building (a hall), Swedish uses i (in/inside) to describe being located inside it. While you use på for many public institutions or activities (like på banken or på bio), you use i when emphasizing the physical interior of a building.
Why do simhallen and parkeringen both end in -en here?
These are the definite forms of the words, which is the Swedish equivalent of using "the" in English. Because the sentence talks about a specific, known swimming pool and a specific parking lot, the base nouns en simhall and en parkering take the definite suffix -en.
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