Breakdown of Jag hör min vän sucka bredvid mig.
jag
I
vännen
the friend
mig
me
höra
to hear
min
my (min/mitt/mina)
bredvid
next to
sucka
to sigh
Questions & Answers about Jag hör min vän sucka bredvid mig.
Why do we use the bare infinitive sucka here instead of the present tense suckar?
After verbs of perception like hör (hear) or ser (see), Swedish uses an object (min vän) followed directly by a bare infinitive (sucka). This works just like the English sentence I hear my friend sigh. You do not use the present tense or add the infinitive marker att before the second verb.
Could I translate I hear my friend sighing by using the Swedish present participle suckande?
While grammatically possible, it sounds much less natural. Swedes almost always use the bare infinitive for these sentences, even when the English translation uses an -ing word. Because of this, Jag hör min vän sucka is the most natural translation for both I hear my friend sigh and I hear my friend sighing.
How is the preposition bredvid pronounced in everyday speech?
In spoken Swedish, the first d and often the final d are completely dropped. You will usually hear it pronounced as breve with the stress on the second syllable.
Why do we use min vän instead of sin vän here?
The reflexive possessive pronoun sin is a tricky topic that learners often mix up, but remember it is only used when referring back to a third-person subject (he, she, it, or they). Since the subject of this sentence is the first-person jag (I), you must use the standard possessive min.
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