Breakdown of Jackan är för liten över bröstet.
vara
to be
jackan
the jacket
liten
small
över
over / past (in clock times)
för
too
bröstet
the chest (body part)
Questions & Answers about Jackan är för liten över bröstet.
Why does the Swedish sentence use bröstet (the chest) instead of a possessive word like hans (his)?
In Swedish, when talking about body parts or clothing that clearly belong to the person in the context, you usually use the definite form instead of a possessive pronoun. Since it is obvious whose chest the jacket is too small for, the definite form bröstet is used instead of hans bröst. This is known as inalienable possession.
Since bröstet is an ett-word, shouldn't the adjective be litet instead of liten?
The adjective liten (small) is describing Jackan (the jacket), not bröstet. Because en jacka is an en-word, the adjective takes the standard en-form liten.
Can the preposition över mean across as well as over?
Yes! While över usually translates to over, it is the standard preposition to use in Swedish when talking about how clothes fit across a specific part of the body.
Learn Jackan är för liten över bröstet 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