Questions & Answers about Det vore varmt och skönt i bastun.
Why do we use vore here instead of skulle vara?
Both vore and skulle vara mean "would be" and are interchangeable in hypothetical situations. vore is the old past subjunctive form of the verb "to be". It is extremely common in everyday Swedish because it is shorter and often sounds a bit softer or more polite.
Why do varmt and skönt end in a "t"?
They describe the impersonal subject det (it), which is a neuter pronoun. When talking about the temperature or the general feel of a room, Swedish uses det along with the neuter t-form of the adjectives.
What exactly does skönt mean in this context?
skönt translates to "comfortable", "pleasant", or "nice" in a physical and relaxing sense. The phrase varmt och skönt is a very common pairing in Swedish that means "warm and cozy". You use it for physical comfort, whereas you would use a word like trevlig for a "nice" person or social event.
Why is it i bastun and not i en bastu?
bastun is the definite form, meaning "the sauna". Just like in English, if you are talking about a specific hypothetical sauna (like the one at your house, a hotel, or gym), you use the definite form rather than the indefinite en bastu (a sauna).