Breakdown of Först trycks knappen in, och sedan kopplas teven in.
och
and
först
first
sedan
then
in
in, into (motion)
knappen
the button
teven
the TV
koppla
to connect
trycka
to press
Questions & Answers about Först trycks knappen in, och sedan kopplas teven in.
Why do the verbs trycks and kopplas end in an -s?
This is the Swedish passive voice. When you want to say that something is done to the subject (rather than the subject doing it), you can often just add an -s to the verb. Trycker (presses) becomes trycks (is pressed), and kopplar (connects) becomes kopplas (is plugged/connected).
Why is the word order Först trycks knappen instead of Först knappen trycks?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule in action! Because the sentence starts with the time word Först (First), the verb trycks must jump into the second position, pushing the subject (knappen) to the third spot. The exact same thing happens in the second clause: the word sedan (then) forces the verb kopplas to come before the subject teven.
What role does the word in play here?
It is a verb particle, which changes the meaning of the verb much like phrasal verbs do in English. Att trycka means "to press," but att trycka in means "to press in." Similarly, att koppla is "to connect," and att koppla in is "to plug in." Notice how the particle in sits later in the sentence, after the subject!
Wait, is teven just "TV" spelled out?
Exactly! In Swedish, the abbreviation TV is very often written out as a regular "en" word: en teve. To say "the TV" (definite form), you just add the standard ending -n to make teven.
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