Breakdown of Vi sitter på marken och hör hundarna yla.
vi
we
och
and
hunden
the dog
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
höra
to hear
sitta
to sit
yla
to howl
marken
the ground
Questions & Answers about Vi sitter på marken och hör hundarna yla.
Why do we use the infinitive yla without the word att here?
This is the rule for verbs of perception, like höra (to hear), se (to see), and känna (to feel/sense). When you perceive an object doing an action, you use the object (hundarna) followed by the bare infinitive (yla). It works exactly like English: we say "hear the dogs howl", not "hear the dogs to howl".
The verbs sitter and hör are present tense. Why isn't yla also in the present tense (ylar)?
Because yla isn't the main action that the subject of the sentence ("we") is doing. Vi (we) are doing the sitting (sitter) and hearing (hör). The howling is the action attached to the object (hundarna), and after a perception verb, that attached action must be an infinitive.
In English, we might say "hear the dogs howling". How do we express that continuous action in Swedish?
You use this exact same sentence! Swedish doesn't use a present participle (an "-ing" word) after perception verbs. Whether you mean "hear the dogs howl" or "hear the dogs howling", you just use the bare infinitive yla.
Why is "on the ground" translated to på marken rather than på golvet?
Marken specifically refers to the ground outside, like soil, earth, or a field. Golvet means the floor inside a building. Since they are sitting on the earth outside, på marken is the correct word.
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