Breakdown of Musen försöker krypa ut ur buren.
försöka
to try
ut
out (motion)
musen
the mouse
ur
out of
krypa
to crawl
buren
the cage
Questions & Answers about Musen försöker krypa ut ur buren.
Why do we use the compound ut ur here instead of ut från?
Ut ur is used specifically when moving out of an enclosed, three-dimensional space, like the cage (buren) in this sentence. If you used ut från, it would sound more like the mouse was just standing next to the cage or on top of it and moving away, rather than escaping from inside it.
Does ur buren mean the same thing without the word ut?
Yes, ur buren alone means "out of the cage" and is grammatically correct. However, adding ut to make the compound preposition ut ur strongly emphasizes the physical direction of the movement (outwards). This compound form is extremely natural and common in Swedish when describing motion.
Why is there no att (to) before krypa? I thought it translated to "trying to crawl".
You absolutely can write försöker att krypa, and this is the standard form in formal writing. However, in spoken and everyday Swedish, the infinitive marker att is very frequently dropped after common verbs like försöka (to try), börja (to begin), and sluta (to stop).
Musen means "the mouse", but how do I talk about multiple mice?
En mus is an irregular en-word that changes its vowel in the plural, very similar to English. "Mice" is möss, and "the mice" (definite plural) is mössen.
Is krypa a regular verb?
No, krypa (to crawl) is a strong verb, meaning it changes its vowel in the past tense rather than taking a standard ending. The forms to memorize are krypa (infinitive), kryper (present), kröp (past), and har krupit (supine).
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