Breakdown of Egentligen är den här mikrovågsugnen bäst, men jag köpte den billiga.
jag
I
vara
to be
köpa
to buy
men
but
billig
cheap
den
the (with en-words)
den här
this (en)
egentligen
actually
bäst
best (superlative of "good")
mikrovågsugnen
the microwave oven
Questions & Answers about Egentligen är den här mikrovågsugnen bäst, men jag köpte den billiga.
Why does the sentence end with just den billiga instead of translating the English word 'one'?
In Swedish, you do not use a filler word like 'one' to replace a noun. Instead, you simply use the independent definite article and the definite adjective together. Because we already know we are talking about a mikrovågsugn, den billiga stands on its own to mean 'the cheap one'.
How do we know to use den in den billiga instead of det?
It must match the gender of the noun it replaces. Since mikrovågsugn is an en-word (as you can see from den här mikrovågsugnen), the matching standalone article must also be the en-word form, which is den.
Why does billiga end with an -a here?
Adjectives take their definite form (which usually ends in -a) when they follow a definite article like den, det, or de. Even though the noun itself is left out, the adjective still follows the rule for following the definite article den.
Why is it bäst without an -a ending, even though we are talking about a specific, definite microwave?
When a superlative adjective comes after a verb like är to describe the subject, it stands alone (predicative) and takes the base form, so it stays bäst. You would only use the definite form bästa if it came directly before the noun, as in den bästa mikrovågsugnen (the best microwave).
Is egentligen related to the English word 'eventually'?
No, this is a common false friend. Egentligen means 'actually', 'really', or 'as a matter of fact'. If you want to say 'eventually' in Swedish, you would use a phrase like så småningom or till slut.
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