Breakdown of Det är svårt att tolka den samtida skulpturen.
vara
to be
det
it (neuter)
att
to
svår
difficult
den
the (with en-words)
tolka
to interpret
samtida
contemporary
skulpturen
the sculpture
Questions & Answers about Det är svårt att tolka den samtida skulpturen.
Why is svårt in the -t form if skulptur is an en-word?
In this sentence, svårt isn't describing the sculpture. It describes the action of interpreting it (att tolka). When you use the "It is [adjective] to [do something]" structure, Swedish uses the impersonal pronoun det and the neuter -t form of the adjective.
Why does samtida end in -a here? Is it because of the definite article den?
While most adjectives do take an -a ending in the definite form, samtida (contemporary) actually always ends in -a. It is an indeclinable adjective, meaning its form never changes regardless of gender, number, or definiteness. You would say en samtida skulptur (indefinite) exactly the same way you use it here.
Why do we use both den and the -en ending on skulpturen?
This is a great refresher on the Swedish "double definite" rule. When a definite noun is described by an adjective, you need the freestanding article (den in this case), the adjective, AND the definite suffix on the noun itself (-en).
Could I use översätta instead of tolka for "interpret"?
översätta strictly means "to translate" (converting written text from one language to another). tolka means "to interpret." While tolka can refer to live language interpretation, it is also the correct word for analyzing or explaining the artistic meaning of something, like a sculpture.
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