Breakdown of Hon drar upp halsduken till hakan.
hon
she
till
to (direction, destination)
upp
up
halsduken
the scarf
Questions & Answers about Hon drar upp halsduken till hakan.
Why does the Swedish sentence say halsduken (the scarf) instead of hennes halsduk or sin halsduk?
This is a great example of how Swedish handles personal items! For things closely attached to you, like clothing and body parts, Swedish usually just uses the definite article (the -en or -et ending) when it is obvious who the owner is. Because she is wearing it, halsduken automatically translates to "her scarf" in this context.
Does the same rule apply to hakan (the chin)?
Exactly! Body parts work just like clothing in this regard. Since it is obvious she is pulling the scarf up to her own face, Swedish uses the definite form hakan (the chin) rather than adding a possessive word like sin haka.
Can I separate the verb and say Hon drar halsduken upp like we do in English ("She pulls her scarf up")?
No, you generally cannot separate them here. Dra upp is a particle verb, meaning the verb and its direction word form a single unit with the spoken stress falling on upp. In Swedish main clauses, the particle almost always stays right next to the verb, so it must be drar upp halsduken.
I see the word hals (neck or throat) in halsduken. What does the duk part mean?
Duk means a cloth or piece of fabric. So a halsduk is literally a "neck-cloth", which is the standard Swedish word for a winter scarf.