Breakdown of Varför flyttar trucken ett ton bönor?
ett
a, an (neuter)
varför
why
flytta
to move
trucken
the forklift
Questions & Answers about Varför flyttar trucken ett ton bönor?
Why is there no word for 'of' in ett ton bönor?
In Swedish, when you state a quantity or measure followed by the thing being measured, you simply put the words together without a preposition. Just like en kopp kaffe (a cup of coffee), 'a ton of beans' translates directly to ett ton bönor without using a word for 'of'.
Does trucken mean 'the truck'?
Not usually! This is a classic false friend. In Swedish, en truck almost always means a forklift (short for gaffeltruck). If you want to talk about a large vehicle for transporting goods on the road, like a semi-truck or lorry, you should use en lastbil.
Why is the word order flyttar trucken instead of trucken flyttar?
This is because of the verb-second (V2) rule. Since the sentence starts with the question word varför (why), the verb flyttar must immediately follow it in the second position. The subject trucken is then pushed to the third position after the verb.
How does the word bönor get its plural ending?
Bönor is the plural form of en böna (a bean). In Swedish, en-words that end in -a drop the -a and add -or to become plural. It is in the indefinite form here because the sentence is talking about an unspecified ton of beans.