Breakdown of Maten började tina och förlusten var enorm.
vara
to be
och
and
maten
the food
börja
to start
enorm
enormous
tina
to thaw
förlusten
the loss
Questions & Answers about Maten började tina och förlusten var enorm.
Why is there no att before the infinitive tina?
With the verb börja (to start), the infinitive marker att is optional and frequently dropped in everyday Swedish. Both började tina and började att tina are perfectly correct.
How is the word förlusten formed?
It is the definite form of en förlust (a loss), which comes from the verb förlora (to lose). Adding -st to a verb stem is a classic way to create a noun in Swedish.
Does tina mean "to thaw" as in thawing by itself, or can I use it when I am actively thawing something?
It works for both! Just like in English, you can say that the food thaws (maten tinar) or that you thaw the food (du tinar maten). You will also often see it used with the particle upp (tina upp) to emphasize completely defrosting something.
Why is the adjective written as enorm here instead of enormt?
Learn Maten började tina och förlusten var enorm and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free