Breakdown of Mekanikern skulle titta på punkteringen, men han var sjuk.
vara
to be
han
he
titta på
to look at
men
but
sjuk
sick
mekanikern
the mechanic
skulle
would
punkteringen
the flat tire
Questions & Answers about Mekanikern skulle titta på punkteringen, men han var sjuk.
How does skulle titta translate to 'was going to look'?
To talk about a plan or intention that was in the future from a past perspective (the 'future in the past'), Swedish uses skulle plus the bare infinitive of the verb, which is titta here. Think of skulle as the past tense of ska (will / is going to).
Do I always need to use på after titta?
If you are specifying what someone is looking at, yes. Titta på is a fixed phrase meaning 'look at' or 'watch'. If you just said titta alone, it would imply the mechanic was going to look around generally, without a specific object.
Why is the definite form of mechanic mekanikern instead of adding a full -en ending?
Nouns ending in -er, especially professions like mekaniker or tekniker, usually just take an -n to form the definite 'the' version. Adding a full -en ending would create a clunky -eren sound, so Swedish drops the extra vowel.
Is punktering the normal way to say 'flat tire' in Swedish?
Yes! While it literally means 'puncture', punktering (or just punka in everyday slang) is the standard word for a flat tire on a vehicle. In this sentence, the -en at the end makes it punkteringen ('the' flat tire).
Learn Mekanikern skulle titta på punkteringen, men han var sjuk 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