Breakdown of Vad säljer de för tulpaner?
de
they
vad
what
sälja
to sell
vad ... för
what kind of (in 'vad ... för')
tulpanen
the tulip
Questions & Answers about Vad säljer de för tulpaner?
Why are vad and för separated in this sentence?
In Swedish, "what kind of" is expressed with vad för. However, because Swedish strictly follows the V2 (verb-second) rule, the verb (säljer) must come immediately after the question word (vad). The subject (de) then follows the verb, naturally pushing för later in the sentence.
Does vad för change to match tulpaner since it is plural?
No, it doesn't! Unlike vilken/vilket/vilka (which/what), the phrase vad för stays exactly the same regardless of whether the noun following it is singular, plural, an en-word, or an ett-word. This makes it very easy to use.
Could I just say Vilka tulpaner säljer de? instead?
You could, but the meaning is slightly different. Vilka tulpaner säljer de? means "Which tulips do they sell?" (asking to identify specific ones from a known selection). Vad säljer de för tulpaner? specifically asks "What kind of tulips do they sell?" (asking about the varieties, colors, or types in general).
Just a quick reminder: how is de pronounced here?
As always in everyday spoken Swedish, the pronoun de is pronounced as dom. You will almost never hear it pronounced exactly as it is spelled.
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