Breakdown of Den blockerade korsningen är tom.
vara
to be
den
the (with en-words)
tom
empty
korsningen
the intersection
blockera
to block
Questions & Answers about Den blockerade korsningen är tom.
Why is the past participle spelled blockerade instead of blockerad?
Blockerad is the past participle of the regular Group 1 verb blockera. Because it is describing a definite noun here (den... korsningen), it must take the definite adjective ending. For Group 1 past participles, the definite (and plural) form is always -ade.
If the noun is definite, why is it tom and not tomma at the end?
Tom is separated from the noun by the verb är (is). Adjectives in this position only match the gender and number of the noun, not its definiteness. Since en korsning is a singular en-word, we use the basic singular form tom.
Why do we need Den when korsningen already means the intersection?
This is the Swedish double definiteness rule. Whenever you put an adjective (like blockerade) in front of a definite noun, you must use both the standalone definite article (den, det, or de) and the definite ending on the noun itself (-en).
Is korsningen also built from a verb?
Yes! It comes from the verb korsa (to cross). Adding -ning to a verb is a very common way to create an en-word noun, turning the action of crossing into the physical place: an intersection.
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