Breakdown of Filten på sängen är av ull.
vara
to be
sängen
the bed
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
filten
the blanket
av
of, by / from (cause)
ullen
the wool
Questions & Answers about Filten på sängen är av ull.
Why do we use av here instead of a word for 'made'?
In Swedish, the preposition av is commonly used on its own to express what something is made of. You don't always need a verb like 'made' (gjord). Saying är av ull literally means 'is of wool', which is the standard way to express 'is made of wool'.
Can I add the word for 'made' and say är gjord av ull?
Yes, you definitely can! Filten är gjord av ull is completely correct and natural. Dropping gjord and just using är av ull is simply a shorter, very common alternative.
Why is ull not in the definite form (ullen) since we are talking about a specific blanket?
When stating the material something is made of using av, the material is treated as a general, uncountable substance, so it stays in the indefinite form (ull). Just like in English, it is made of 'wool', not 'the wool'.
Could I express this with a compound noun, like ullfilten?
Yes, Swedish uses compound words very frequently for materials. If you wanted to say 'The wool blanket on the bed is warm', you would use the compound noun: Ullfilten på sängen är varm. But in our sentence, the material is the main point being stated, so we use the phrase är av ull to complete the sentence.
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