Breakdown of Han tar på sig de vattentäta kängorna.
han
he
de
the (plural, before adjective)
ta på sig
to put on (clothes)
vattentät
waterproof
kängan
the boot (lace-up or ankle boot)
Questions & Answers about Han tar på sig de vattentäta kängorna.
Why isn't there a word for 'his' (hans or sina) in the Swedish sentence?
This is how Swedish handles clothing and body parts! Instead of saying "his boots", Swedish simply uses the definite form, kängorna (the boots). Because he is putting them on himself, it is already obvious whose boots they are. English requires a possessive word here, but Swedish prefers the definite article.
Why is sig used here? Doesn't tar på already mean 'puts on'?
To mean "puts on" when talking about clothing, the verb must be reflexive: tar på sig (literally "takes on himself"). If you drop the sig and just say tar på, the meaning changes entirely to "touches".
Why do we have both the word de and the -na ending on kängorna?
This is a classic example of Swedish "double definiteness." Whenever you put an adjective (vattentäta) in front of a definite noun (kängorna), you must also add a separate definite article in front of the adjective. Since the noun is plural, that extra article is de.
What kind of boots are kängor? Could I just use stövlar?
Kängor refers to sturdy, lace-up boots that usually go up to the ankle or mid-calf, like hiking boots or combat boots. Stövlar generally refers to taller, pull-on boots, like rubber rain boots or tall winter boots. Since both can be waterproof (vattentäta), either word could work, but they describe different styles of footwear.
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