Breakdown of Vi ska köpa ett nytt fodral till mobilen.
ett
a, an (neuter)
vi
we
köpa
to buy
ska
will
till
for (to go with)
ny
new
mobilen
the cell phone
fodralet
the case
Questions & Answers about Vi ska köpa ett nytt fodral till mobilen.
Why do we use till here instead of för to mean 'for'?
When talking about accessories or things that objectively belong to or fit a specific item, Swedish uses till. Just like a key belongs to a door (nyckeln till dörren), a case is an accessory that belongs to a phone, so we say ett fodral till mobilen.
In English I might say 'for my phone' or 'for our phone'. Why does Swedish just say mobilen (the phone)?
Swedish frequently uses the definite form (mobilen) instead of a possessive pronoun (like vår mobil) when the owner is obvious from the context. Since 'we' are buying the case, it is naturally assumed to be for our own phone.
Why is the adjective nytt spelled with two t's instead of just ny?
The noun fodral (case) is an ett word. Because it is used here with the indefinite article ett, the adjective must match it by taking the neuter form. The adjective ny gets a -tt added to it, becoming nytt.
Could we use kommer att köpa instead of ska köpa for the future tense here?
It would be understood, but ska is the natural choice here. Swedish uses ska when the future action is a deliberate plan or intention controlled by the subject. Since 'we' have made the decision to go out and buy the case, ska köpa perfectly expresses that clear intention.
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