Breakdown of Jag har en krossad skärm på min telefon.
jag
I
en
a, an (common)
telefonen
the phone
ha
to have
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
min
my (min/mitt/mina)
skärmen
the screen
krossad
smashed
Questions & Answers about Jag har en krossad skärm på min telefon.
Why does the word for "smashed" end in -ad (krossad) in this sentence?
In Swedish, past participles (words like "smashed" or "closed") change their endings to match the noun they describe, just like regular adjectives do. Because skärm is a singular en-word (en skärm), the participle takes the en-word form, which is krossad. If you were describing an ett-word, it would be ett krossat glas (a smashed glass), and for plurals it would be krossade skärmar.
What verb does the participle krossad come from?
It comes from the verb att krossa, which means to crush or smash. It belongs to Group 1, which are verbs that end in -ar in the present tense (krossar). For Group 1 verbs, the past participle is formed by adding -ad, -at, or -ade to the verb stem, depending on the gender and number of the noun it describes.
Why is the preposition på used here?
While på literally translates to "on," it is also the standard Swedish preposition for talking about physical parts belonging to a larger whole. Whether you would say "the screen on my phone" or "the screen of my phone" in English, på is the natural choice in Swedish.
Why is it min telefon and not min telefonen?
This is a great rule to remember: whenever you use a possessive word like min (my), din (your), or deras (their), the noun that follows must stay in the indefinite form (without the "the" ending). Since min already shows exactly which phone you mean, adding the definite ending to make it min telefonen would be incorrect.
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