Breakdown of Den gamla maskinen var pålitlig, men den nya är värdelös.
vara
to be
maskinen
the machine
men
but
gammal
old
ny
new
den
the (with en-words)
värdelös
worthless
pålitlig
reliable
Questions & Answers about Den gamla maskinen var pålitlig, men den nya är värdelös.
How does the suffix -lös work in the word värdelös?
The suffix -lös means "without", just like the English suffix "-less". When you attach it to the noun värde (value or worth), it creates the adjective värdelös (worthless).
Is the -lig in pålitlig related to the -ig suffix from this lesson?
Yes! The suffix -lig is a very common variation of -ig, and both are used to turn nouns or verbs into adjectives. Here, it takes the concept of lita på (to trust or rely on) and turns it into the adjective pålitlig (reliable).
Why do we say Den gamla maskinen instead of just using the base word gammal?
This is a reminder of Swedish double definiteness. Because we are talking about a specific machine, we need the standalone definite article den, the definite form of the noun (maskinen), and the definite form of the adjective. Gamla is the irregular definite form of gammal (old).
Why does the second part of the sentence just say den nya without repeating the word for machine?
Just like in English where we say "the new one", Swedish lets you drop the noun completely if it is obvious from the context. You just keep the definite article den and the definite adjective nya to stand in for the whole phrase.
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