Breakdown of De köper minst mjölk av alla.
de
they
köpa
to buy
alla
all
mjölken
the milk
av
of, by / from (cause)
minst
least
Questions & Answers about De köper minst mjölk av alla.
Why is it minst here instead of färst?
Minst means "the least" and is used for uncountable nouns like mjölk (milk) where you are measuring an amount. If you were talking about things you can count individually, like apples or books, you would use färst (the fewest). The progression for uncountable amounts is lite (a little) -> mindre (less) -> minst (the least).
Wait, doesn't minst mean "smallest"? How do I know it means "the least" here?
It can mean both! Minst is the superlative (most extreme) form for both liten (small in size) and lite (small in amount). You just have to use context. Since you don't typically measure the physical size of a liquid being bought, it naturally means "the least amount of milk" here.
Why do we use av in av alla?
When making a comparison to a whole group using a superlative (like "the least", "the fastest", "the biggest"), Swedish uses av to mean "of" or "out of". So av alla is the standard phrase for "of all" or "out of everyone".
Does mjölk need to be in the definite form (mjölken) after a superlative?
Not here! When minst is used as an amount word (a quantifier) meaning "the least amount of", the noun that follows stays in its basic, indefinite form. It perfectly matches English: you say "the least milk", not "the least the milk".
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