Breakdown of Många mappar i arkivet är rivna.
vara
to be
i
in
många
many
arkivet
the archive
mappen
the folder
riva
to tear
Questions & Answers about Många mappar i arkivet är rivna.
Why is the word for 'torn' rivna instead of riven or rivet?
Rivna is the past participle of the Group 4 (strong) verb att riva (to tear). Because past participles act like adjectives, they must agree with the noun they describe. Since mappar (folders) is plural, we use the plural ending -na, which is the standard plural past participle ending for Group 4 verbs.
What would this look like if we were talking about a single folder or a single piece of paper?
For a singular en word like en mapp, you use the -en ending: Mappen är riven (The folder is torn). For a singular ett word like ett papper, you use the -et ending: Papperet är rivet (The paper is torn).
Does mappar mean 'maps'?
No, this is a common 'false friend' for English speakers. En mapp translates to 'a folder' (such as a physical file folder in an archive or a digital folder on a computer). If you want to say 'maps', the Swedish word is kartor (from the singular en karta).
Why does the word for 'the archive' end in -et here?
The base word is ett arkiv (an archive), so adding -et makes it definite: arkivet (the archive). It's helpful to remember that many international loanwords in Swedish, like arkiv, system, and problem, are ett words.
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