Questions & Answers about De trivs i äktenskapet.
How is the word äktenskap formed using the -skap suffix?
It comes from the adjective äkta, which means genuine or married, combined with the suffix -skap. Similar to the English suffixes -ship or -hood, -skap is used to create abstract nouns out of adjectives or other nouns, effectively turning "married" into "marriage".
Äktenskapet has the definite -et ending, making it an ett-word. Do all -skap words have the same gender?
No, words ending in -skap are split between en-words and ett-words, so you have to learn them individually. While äktenskap (marriage), sällskap (company), and landskap (landscape) are ett-words, other common ones like vänskap (friendship) and kunskap (knowledge) are en-words.
Why does the verb trivs end in an -s? Is this a passive sentence?
It is not passive. The infinitive form is trivas, which is a "deponent" verb. This means it always ends in an -s in all tenses, but it has a completely active meaning. It is just a structural quirk of this specific verb.
The English translation says they "are happy", but doesn't trivs literally mean "thrive"?