Question 1

How is the passive verb bevarades formed in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Bevarades is the s-passive form in the simple past tense. The active verb is bevara (to preserve), which is a Group 1 verb. To make it past tense, we add -de to get bevarade. Finally, we just add an -s at the end to make it passive, giving us bevarades (were preserved).

Question 2

How do we know träd (trees) is plural here if it has no plural ending?

Accepted Answer

Träd is an ett word that ends in a consonant (ett träd). This group of nouns looks exactly the same in the indefinite plural. We can tell it means "trees" rather than "tree" here because of the plural words that come right before it: många (many) and the plural adjective ending on gamla (old).

Question 3

What is the -o- doing in the middle of kyrkogården (the cemetery)?

Accepted Answer

Kyrkogården is a compound word made from kyrka (church) and gården (the yard). The -o- replaces the -a in kyrka. This is a combining vowel left over from Old Swedish that acts like glue to connect certain nouns, especially those that end in -a. You will also see this in words like lärobok (textbook), which comes from lära (to teach).

Question 4

Why does the past tense verb besökte end in -te instead of -de?

Accepted Answer

Besöka (to visit) is a Group 2 verb. Group 2 verbs are split into two categories based on the last letter of their stem. Because the stem besök- ends in a hard, voiceless consonant (k), it takes -te in the past tense to make it easier to pronounce. If it ended in a voiced consonant like l or v, it would take -de.

Vi besökte kyrkogården där många gamla träd bevarades.

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