Breakdown of Barnet borde tacka för presenten.
barnet
the child
för
for, to
presenten
the gift
böra
should, ought to
tacka
to thank
Questions & Answers about Barnet borde tacka för presenten.
Why is the verb tacka used without att (to) before it?
Borde (should) is a modal verb. In Swedish, modal verbs are followed directly by the bare infinitive form of the next verb. Just like you say 'should thank' instead of 'should to thank' in English, you say borde tacka instead of borde att tacka in Swedish.
The verb borde ends in -de, which usually means past tense. Is this sentence in the past tense?
No, this sentence is giving advice for the present or the future. Even though borde is technically the past tense form of the verb böra, it is used exactly like 'should' in English to give a current recommendation or advice.
The English translation says 'say thank you', but the Swedish sentence just uses tacka. Why?
In Swedish, tacka is a verb that means 'to thank' or 'to say thank you'. You do not need a separate word for 'say', you just use the verb tacka followed by the preposition för (for) to explain what the person is thankful for.
Why do barnet and presenten have different endings if they both mean 'the'?
They belong to different noun groups. Barn (child) is an ett word, so it takes the ending -et to become barnet (the child). Present (gift/present) is an en word, so it takes the ending -en to become presenten (the present).
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