Breakdown of Fågeln tystnar när kvällen kommer.
komma
to come
kvällen
the evening
fågeln
the bird
när
when
tystna
to fall silent
Questions & Answers about Fågeln tystnar när kvällen kommer.
How is the verb tystnar formed in this sentence?
It is an inchoative verb, which means it describes a change of state. It's formed by adding -na to the adjective tyst (quiet or silent). Therefore, att tystna means "to become quiet" or "to fall silent".
Are -na verbs like tystna irregular when conjugating into the past tense?
No, they are highly regular! Almost all verbs ending in -na belong to Verb Group 1. This means the infinitive is att tystna, the present is tystnar, the past tense is tystnade, and the supine (used with "have" or "had") is tystnat.
Could I just say Fågeln blir tyst instead?
Yes, Fågeln blir tyst means exactly the same thing. However, Swedish often prefers these -na verbs because they are more concise and sound more natural and descriptive than using blir (becomes) plus an adjective.
Why is "the bird" written as fågeln instead of fågelen?
The root word is en fågel. As a quick refresher: when an en-word ends in an unstressed -el, -er, or -en, Swedish drops the final -e from the root before adding the definite ending -en. This makes it flow better in speech, giving us fågeln instead of the clunky "fågelen".
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