Breakdown of Sömmerskan är öm i fingret idag.
vara
to be
idag
today
i
in
fingret
the finger
sömmerskan
the seamstress
öm
sore
Questions & Answers about Sömmerskan är öm i fingret idag.
Why does öm only have one 'm' when the 'ö' is pronounced as a short vowel?
In Swedish, a short vowel is usually followed by a double consonant to show it is short. However, words ending in 'm' are an exception: 'm' is almost never doubled at the very end of a root word, so we write öm instead of "ömm". If you add a vowel ending, like making the adjective plural, the double consonant appears to protect the short vowel (making it ömma).
How does the spelling of sömmerskan connect to this same rule?
The root of sömmerskan is söm (a seam). Just like öm, it is written with a single 'm' in its base form despite having a short 'ö'. When the suffix -erska (indicating a female profession) is added, the 'm' is no longer at the end of the word, so it doubles to mm to keep the vowel short.
The English translation says "The seamstress's finger," but the Swedish uses i fingret. Why?
When talking about pain or physical sensations, Swedish typically uses the structure "to be [adjective] in [the body part]." Furthermore, Swedish prefers using the definite article (fingret - the finger) rather than a possessive pronoun like "her" when context makes it obvious whose body part it is.
Why is it spelled fingret instead of "fingeret"?
Finger is an ett-word (ett finger). To make it definite, you add -et. However, for many ett-words that end in -er, -el, or -en, you drop the final 'e' in the root before adding the ending to make it easier to pronounce. So "finger" + "et" shrinks down to fingret.
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