Breakdown of Efter förseningen är ankomsten klockan kvart i tolv.
vara
to be
klockan
the clock
tolv
twelve
efter
after
kvarten
the quarter
i
to (in clock times)
förseningen
the delay
ankomsten
the arrival
Questions & Answers about Efter förseningen är ankomsten klockan kvart i tolv.
Why do we use i in kvart i tolv instead of a word that directly translates to "to"?
When telling time in Swedish, the preposition i is used to mean "to" or "before" the hour. So kvart i tolv literally means "a quarter in twelve", which is how Swedish expresses "a quarter to twelve". If you wanted to say "a quarter past twelve", you would use över instead of i.
Why is the word order är ankomsten (is the arrival) rather than ankomsten är (the arrival is)?
This is a great example of the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule! Because the sentence starts with the phrase Efter förseningen (After the delay), the verb är must take the second position in the sentence. The subject ankomsten is therefore pushed to the third position.
How do the words förseningen and ankomsten show that we are talking about "the" delay and "the" arrival?
In Swedish, the definite article ("the") is attached to the end of the noun rather than being a separate word in front of it. Because both försening (delay) and ankomst (arrival) are "en" words, they take the suffix -en to become definite: förseningen and ankomsten.
Is it mandatory to use the word klockan before the actual time?
It is very common and sounds natural, but it is not strictly required. Just like you can sometimes drop "o'clock" in English, you could simply say ...är kvart i tolv and it would still be completely correct and understood.
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