Mannen mindes tiden då han bodde på landet.
The man remembered the time when he lived in the country.
Breakdown of Mannen mindes tiden då han bodde på landet.
han
he
mannen
the man
bo
to live
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
landet
the countryside
tiden
the time
minnas
to remember
då
when (relative)
Questions & Answers about Mannen mindes tiden då han bodde på landet.
Why do we use då here instead of när for 'when'?
Both words translate to 'when', but då is used here as a relative adverb because it refers directly back to a specific noun representing time: tiden (the time). While när typically asks a question or simply connects two events, då acts more like the English phrase 'at which time' to describe the noun.
Why does mindes end in an -s? Is it a passive verb?
It is not passive! It belongs to a group of Swedish verbs called 's-verbs' (or deponent verbs). These always end in -s but have a completely active meaning. The infinitive form is minnas (to remember), and mindes is its past tense form.
Why does the sentence use på landet instead of i landet?
The word land can mean either 'a nation' or 'the countryside'. When talking about being in the countryside, Swedish always uses the preposition på (på landet). If the sentence used i landet, it would sound like he lived inside a specific nation rather than out in nature.
What happens to the word order in the clause starting with då?
Because då introduces a relative subclause, everything that follows it must use standard subclause word order. The subject (han) comes right after då, followed by the verb (bodde). If you wanted to add a sentence adverb like inte (not) or alltid (always), it would have to be placed before the verb.
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