Breakdown of Kocken skär en fjärdedel av biten.
en
a, an (common)
kocken
the chef
av
of, by / from (cause)
skära
to cut
biten
the piece (portion, chunk)
fjärdedelen
the quarter (fraction)
Questions & Answers about Kocken skär en fjärdedel av biten.
How is the fraction en fjärdedel (a quarter) formed?
In Swedish, fractions are generally built by combining an ordinal number (like third, fourth, fifth) with the word del (part). Here, fjärde (fourth) + del becomes fjärdedel. The main exception to this pattern is a half, which is just en halv.
Why do we use the preposition av here?
When expressing a fraction or proportion of a whole, Swedish uses av. It works exactly like of in English, as in en fjärdedel av biten (a quarter of the piece) or hälften av degen (half of the dough).
The verb is skär. Why is there no present tense -r ending?
The infinitive is att skära (to cut). Because the verb stem skär already ends in an r, Swedish drops the extra present tense -r ending to make it easier to say. It is a strong verb to memorize: skära, skär, skar, skurit.
Where does the word biten come from?
It is the definite form of en bit, which means a piece or a slice. The sentence uses the definite form biten (the piece) because the chef is working with a specific, known piece of food.
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