Breakdown of Förseningen är lång, så spårvagnen kommer klockan halv sju.
vara
to be
komma
to come
klockan
the clock
lång
long / tall
sju
seven
så
so
halv
half
spårvagnen
the tram
förseningen
the delay
Questions & Answers about Förseningen är lång, så spårvagnen kommer klockan halv sju.
Why does halv sju mean "half past six" when sju is the word for seven?
In Swedish, half-hours look forward to the upcoming hour, not back at the one that just passed. So halv sju literally means "halfway to seven," which is 6:30.
Do I need a word for "at" before klockan halv sju?
No, you don't need a preposition here. While English says "at half past six," Swedish simply uses the time phrase directly: klockan halv sju (literally "the clock half seven").
Why does the Swedish sentence use kommer (comes) instead of a future tense like "is going to come"?
Swedish very commonly uses the present tense to talk about the future, especially when a specific time is mentioned in the sentence. So kommer works perfectly for "is coming" or "will come".
How is the word spårvagnen (the tram) put together?
It is a compound word made of spår (track) and vagn (carriage). The -en at the end makes it definite ("the tram"), exactly like how the -en on förseningen makes it "the delay."
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