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Folket väntar länge.

Folket väntar länge.
The people wait for a long time.
From Lesson 85:People and places (killen, eleven, klassen)·Swedish

Questions & Answers about Folket väntar länge.

Why does 'the people' translate to folket? Shouldn't 'people' be a plural word like människor?
In Swedish, folk is an ett-word that refers to people as a single collective group, the public, or a nation. Adding the definite suffix -et makes it folket (the people). If you are talking about several individual persons, you would instead use the plural word människor.
Why doesn't the Swedish sentence include a word for 'for'?
The Swedish adverb länge means 'for a long time' all by itself. You do not need to add a preposition in front of it. In fact, if you added för and said för länge, it would change the meaning to 'too long'.
What is the difference between länge, lång, and långt?
Länge is an adverb used specifically for a long amount of time. If you want to describe physical length, you use the adjective lång (like a long table), and if you want to describe a long physical distance, you use the adverb långt (meaning far away).
Could this sentence also mean 'The people are waiting'?
Yes! Swedish does not have a separate continuous tense like the English '-ing' form. The present tense verb väntar covers both 'wait' and 'are waiting' depending on the context.

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