Breakdown of Smakar de gamla ostarna bra?
bra
good / well
gammal
old
de
the (plural, before adjective)
osten
the cheese
Questions & Answers about Smakar de gamla ostarna bra?
Why is the word for old written as gamla instead of gammala?
The base form of the adjective is gammal. Similar to the current lesson's rule where adjectives ending in -el, -er, or -en drop a vowel in their plural or definite forms (like vacker becoming vackra), gammal drops its second a. It also drops one m to become gamla.
Why are there two words meaning the in de gamla ostarna?
This is a great example of the Swedish double definite rule. When a definite noun has an adjective in front of it, you must use the freestanding plural article de before the adjective AND attach the plural definite suffix -arna to the end of the noun.
Why does the sentence start with the verb Smakar?
In Swedish, yes/no questions are formed simply by putting the verb in the first position. Instead of using a helper word like do in English, you just flip the subject and verb, literally saying Taste the old cheeses good?
How is de pronounced in this sentence?
Even though it acts as a plural article here rather than the pronoun meaning they, de is still pronounced as dom in everyday spoken Swedish.