Questions & Answers about Han stängde av telefonen.
Doesn't stängde usually mean "closed"?
Yes! On its own, the verb stänga means "to close". However, when you combine it with the word av (off), it creates the particle verb stänga av. This specific combination means "to turn off" or "to switch off" (used for electronics, machines, water, etc.).
Can I separate the verb and say Han stängde telefonen av like we often do in English?
No, that would sound unnatural in Swedish. Unlike English (where you can say "turned the phone off"), Swedish almost always keeps the verb and its particle right next to each other. The particle av needs to come immediately after the verb stängde and before the noun telefonen.
Which word should I emphasize when speaking: stängde or av?
You should put the heavy stress on the particle av. In Swedish, particle verbs always have the emphasis on the short particle word rather than the main verb. If you stress stängde instead, it sounds like you are just saying "closed" followed by a random preposition, which can confuse native speakers.
How do I know to use -de to make this verb past tense?
Stänga belongs to a very common group of Swedish verbs (Group 2) whose stems end in a voiced consonant (like -ng). To form the past tense for these regular verbs, you drop the final -a from the infinitive and add -de. So, stäng(a) simply becomes stängde.
Learn Han stängde av telefonen and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free