Breakdown of Polisen stoppade bilen.
bilen
the car
polisen
the police officer
stoppa
to stop (something); to put, stuff
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Questions & Answers about Polisen stoppade bilen.
Why is polisen singular here when "the police" is plural in English?
In Swedish, polisen is a singular noun that refers to the police force as a whole, or to a single police officer. English treats "the police" as a plural group, but Swedish treats it as a single unit. To specifically talk about multiple officers, you would use the plural form poliserna.
Why use stoppade instead of stannade for the word "stopped"?
This is a classic mix-up! You use stoppa (past tense stoppade) when someone stops something else, like the police stopping a car. You use stanna (past tense stannade) when someone or something comes to a halt on its own. If the car had stopped at a red light by itself, you would say bilen stannade.
Why is stoppade spelled with a double "p"?
In Swedish spelling, a double consonant tells you that the vowel right before it is pronounced as a short sound. The double "p" here means that the o in stoppade is short and quick.