Questions & Answers about Båda två har ont i axlarna.
Why does the sentence say båda två instead of just båda?
In Swedish, you can use either båda or båda två to mean "both". Adding två (two) just adds a little emphasis, much like saying "both of them" instead of just "both" in English. They mean the same thing and are mostly interchangeable!
Ont often translates to "bad" or "evil". How does har ont i mean "have pain in"?
Att ha ont i is the standard fixed expression for "to have pain in" or "to hurt". For example, if your head hurts, you say jag har ont i huvudet (literally "I have pain in the head"). It is the most common way to talk about body aches in Swedish.
Why does it use the definite form axlarna (the shoulders) instead of a word for "their shoulders"?
In Swedish, when you talk about body parts or clothing, you usually use the definite form (like "the shoulders") rather than a possessive word (like "their") as long as it is obvious whose body part it is.
The word for shoulder is axel. Why is the plural axlarna and not axelarna?
Swedish words ending in -el, -er, or -en often drop their last vowel when you add a plural ending. Because of this rule, en axel drops its 'e' to become axlar in the plural, which then becomes axlarna in the definite plural (the shoulders).