Questions & Answers about Vi lånar varandras kläder.
Why do we use the indefinite form kläder instead of the definite form kläderna here?
In Swedish, whenever you use a possessive word—including the reciprocal genitive varandras (each other's)—the noun that follows must be in the indefinite form. Even though we are talking about specific clothes, the possessive word already makes it definite enough.
Does varandras change depending on the gender or number of the noun it owns?
Doesn't lånar also mean 'lend'? How do we know it means 'borrow' here?
You are right! The verb lånar can mean either 'borrow' or 'lend' depending on the context. If you want to be crystal clear that you are lending something to someone, you usually add ut to make it lånar ut (lend out). Since there is no ut here, 'borrow' is the most natural translation.
What if I wanted to say 'We borrow clothes from each other' instead of 'each other's clothes'?
You would drop the possessive -s and use the preposition av (from). The sentence would become: Vi lånar kläder av varandra.
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