Word
Du måste tolka texten under lektionen.
Meaning
You must interpret the text during the lesson.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Du måste tolka texten under lektionen.
du
you (singular)
måste
to have to, must
lektionen
the lesson
texten
the text
Questions & Answers about Du måste tolka texten under lektionen.
Wait, doesn't under mean "under" or "below"? Why is it used for time here?
It does! Physically, under means "underneath." But when used as a temporal preposition (a word describing time), it means "during." So under lektionen translates to "during the lesson."
Could I say på lektionen instead of under lektionen?
Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly. På lektionen simply means you do it at or in the lesson. Using under lektionen specifically emphasizes the ongoing period of time, meaning during or while the lesson is taking place.
Why is there no att (to) before tolka?
Måste (must) is a modal verb. Just like in English, Swedish modal verbs are followed directly by the infinitive form of the next verb without using att. You say must interpret (måste tolka), not must to interpret.
What is the difference between tolka and översätta?
Översätta means to translate from one language to another, usually in writing. Tolka means to interpret, which can mean verbally translating on the fly, or—as is likely in this sentence—analyzing a text to figure out its deeper meaning.