Breakdown of Vi har bott här i tio år och matat varandras katter.
vi
we
här
here
och
and
katten
the cat
bo
to live
ha
to have
i
for (duration)
året
the year
tio
ten
varandras
each other's
mata
to feed
Questions & Answers about Vi har bott här i tio år och matat varandras katter.
How does varandras work, and why is it followed by katter instead of katterna?
Varandras means each other's and is the genitive (possessive) form of varandra (each other). In Swedish, just like with other possessive words, the noun that follows must be in the indefinite form. That is why we use katter and not katterna. Also, notice that Swedish genitives never use an apostrophe!
Why do we use the preposition i for for in i tio år?
When talking about how long an ongoing action has lasted (duration), Swedish uses the preposition i. English speakers are often tempted to use för, but in time expressions, för is usually combined with sedan to mean ago (like för tio år sedan). So, for ten years translates to i tio år.
Where is the helping verb for matat?
The helping verb har (have) applies to both actions in this sentence: bott (lived) and matat (fed). Because they are connected by och (and) and share the same subject, you do not need to repeat har. You are essentially saying Vi har bott... och [har] matat... Both verbs must be in the supine form to match the shared har.
Why is the verb form bott used instead of bodde?
Bodde is the simple past tense (lived), used for actions that are completely finished. Because the sentence uses the helping verb har (have), we must use the supine form of the verb bo, which is bott. Together they form the present perfect tense (have lived), showing that they started living there in the past and still live there now.
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