Breakdown of Han bar den tunga kassen åt sin mormor.
han
he
tung
heavy
sin
his/her/its/their own (en-word)
den
the (with en-words)
mormorn
the maternal grandmother
åt
for (on behalf of), to
bära
to carry
kassen
the shopping bag
Questions & Answers about Han bar den tunga kassen åt sin mormor.
Why do we use åt here instead of för or till?
In this sentence, he is doing a practical favor on behalf of his grandmother, which is exactly when you use åt. If you used till, it would imply he carried the bag physically to her location. för is typically reserved for abstract things done in someone's interest (like fighting for a cause), rather than everyday chores and favors.
Why is it sin mormor instead of hans mormor?
sin is a reflexive pronoun that points back to the subject of the sentence. Since he is helping his own grandmother, we use sin. If the sentence said hans mormor, it would mean he was carrying the bag for some other man's grandmother.
Why does the adjective tung (heavy) have an -a at the end in den tunga kassen?
This is a reminder of the double definite rule. When a noun has a standalone definite article like den (the) and an adjective, both the adjective and the noun must take their definite forms. So the basic word tung gets an -a to become tunga, matching the definite noun kassen (the bag).
What is the base form of the verb bar?
bar is the past tense of the irregular verb bära (to carry). The pattern to memorize is bära (infinitive), bär (present), bar (past tense), and burit (used after have/had).
Learn Han bar den tunga kassen åt sin mormor and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free