Breakdown of Båda två har korta ben.
ha
to have
kort
short
två
two
båda
both (pronoun, e.g. both of them)
benet
the leg
Questions & Answers about Båda två har korta ben.
Why do we use båda två instead of just båda?
You can actually use either! Saying båda två is very common in Swedish and translates nicely to "both of them" or "the two of them". Using just båda (both) is also correct, but adding två sounds very natural in everyday speech when talking about two people or animals.
Wait, doesn't ben mean "bone"? Why is it translated as "legs"?
In Swedish, ben can mean both "leg" and "bone". You usually have to rely on context to figure out which one is meant. Since the sentence is describing the physical build of two individuals, "legs" is the most logical translation here.
Why doesn't the word ben have a plural ending like -ar or -er?
Because ben is an ett word that ends in a consonant (ett ben). In Swedish, these types of words look exactly the same in the singular and the plural when they are indefinite. So, one leg is ett ben, and multiple legs are simply ben.
Why is the adjective spelled korta instead of kort?
Adjectives in Swedish have to match the noun they describe. Because we are talking about plural legs (ben), the adjective must take its plural form. We do this by adding an -a to the end, making it korta.
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