Questions & Answers about De odlar potatis här.
Why is it potatis and not potatisar when the English translation says potatoes?
When talking about crops or food in general, Swedish uses the singular form potatis. You only use the plural potatisar when counting individual items, like tre potatisar (three potatoes).
Since we are learning about ongoing actions (like står och pratar), could I say De står och odlar potatis to mean they are growing potatoes right now?
Generally, no. Pseudo-coordination (like står och) is used for specific physical actions happening right at this moment. Growing a crop is a long-term process, so Swedish just uses the simple present tense odlar to express both grow and are growing in this context.
Could I use the verb växer instead of odlar here?
No, because Swedish uses two different words for grow. Odlar is used when a person actively farms or cultivates something. Växer is used when a plant or person gets bigger on its own, like in potatisen växer (the potato is growing).
As a quick refresher, how should I pronounce De in this sentence?
Just like in earlier lessons, the pronoun De (they) is almost always pronounced as dom in everyday spoken Swedish.
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