Breakdown of Jag köpte en present när vi firade årsdagen den andra juli.
jag
I
vi
we
en
a, an (common)
köpa
to buy
Questions & Answers about Jag köpte en present när vi firade årsdagen den andra juli.
Why is there no Swedish word for "on" in den andra juli?
In Swedish, you don't need a preposition to say "on" a specific date. You simply use den (the) followed by the ordinal number and the month, just like in this sentence!
Will the ordinal number andra (second) change its spelling if it describes an ett word?
No. Unlike regular adjectives, ordinal numbers in Swedish like andra (second) and första (first) do not change their endings based on whether a word is an en word or an ett word.
How is the word årsdagen (the anniversary) put together?
It is a compound word made from år (year) and dagen (the day). They are connected by an -s-, which is a very common "glue" letter used in Swedish to join two nouns together.
Why is the word order vi firade right after när?
The word när (when) starts a subordinate clause, which is a sentence piece that cannot stand alone. In these clauses, the subject (vi) comes before the verb (firade). Just remember that if you add a word like inte (not), it jumps in front of the verb: när vi inte firade.