Breakdown of Katedralen blev förstörd av stormen, men den var åttio år gammal.
vara
to be
den
it (common)
året
the year
men
but
gammal
old
åttio
eighty
bli
to become
av
of, by / from (cause)
stormen
the storm
förstörd
destroyed
katedralen
the cathedral
Questions & Answers about Katedralen blev förstörd av stormen, men den var åttio år gammal.
Why is the plural word for "years" just år in åttio år gammal?
In Swedish, ett-words that end in a consonant do not change their spelling in the plural. So ett år (one year) simply becomes åttio år (eighty years). The structure for age here is exactly like English: quantity (åttio) + unit (år) + adjective (gammal).
Does the adjective gammal change depending on what is being described?
Yes! In measurement and age phrases like åttio år gammal, the adjective still has to agree with the noun it describes. Because katedralen is a singular en-word, we use the basic form gammal. If we were talking about an ett-word like tornet (the tower), it would be åttio år gammalt, and for plural items, åttio år gamla.
Could I use the s-passive and say förstördes instead of blev förstörd here?
Yes, you could. Both are valid ways to form the passive voice. Using blev (got/became) plus the past participle emphasizes the sudden change of state or the result, similar to saying "got destroyed" in English. The s-passive (förstördes) is also fine but sounds a bit more formal and focuses slightly more on the action itself.
Why does förstörd end in a -d here?
When you form the passive with blev, the word for the action (förstörd) acts like an adjective and has to agree with the subject. Since katedralen is a singular en-word, it takes the standard -d ending. If the subject were plural, like husen (the houses), it would be blev förstörda.
Why is "it" translated as den instead of det in the second half of the sentence?
In Swedish, the word for "it" depends on the gender of the noun you are referring back to. Since it refers to katedralen, which is an en-word (en katedral), you must use den. You only use det when referring back to an ett-word.
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