Breakdown of Jag brukade ha en affisch på min idol.
jag
I
en
a, an (common)
ha
to have
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
Questions & Answers about Jag brukade ha en affisch på min idol.
Why is it på instead of av to say a poster "of" my idol?
In Swedish, when talking about pictures, photos, or posters depicting someone or something, you almost always use the preposition på. While av usually translates to "of" for possession or origin, a "picture of X" is en bild på X, and a "poster of X" is en affisch på X.
How do we form the "used to" structure in this sentence?
To talk about past habits or states, Swedish uses the past tense verb brukade followed by a bare infinitive (the dictionary form of the verb without the word att). Here, it is brukade plus the infinitive ha (to have).
If brukade means "used to", can I use its present tense form brukar to say "I usually do" something?
Yes! The verb att bruka means "to usually do" something. So if you say Jag brukar ha en affisch, it means "I usually have a poster." The past tense brukade shifts that to "I usually had" or "I used to have."
Is idol used exactly the same way in Swedish as in English?
Yes, it means the same thing and is spelled the same way. Just remember that the pronunciation is different. It uses a long Swedish "i" sound (like the "ee" in "see") and the emphasis is on the second syllable: i-DOHL.