Breakdown of Vi tog en tidig buss till staden.
en
a, an (common)
staden
the city
till
to (direction, destination)
ta
to take
Questions & Answers about Vi tog en tidig buss till staden.
Why is the adjective tidig used here instead of tidigt?
Tidig matches the noun buss, which is a singular en word (en buss). If the noun were an ett word, like ett tåg (a train), it would be ett tidigt tåg.
Why does the sentence use tog en buss instead of åkte buss?
When talking about the general mode of transport, Swedish uses att åka buss (to go by bus) without an article. But because we are talking about a specific scheduled vehicle here (an early bus), we use att ta (to take) and include the article, just like in English.
I usually hear people say stan for the city. Why does this sentence use staden?
Staden is the standard written definite form of en stad (a city). Stan is the common spoken form, which is also often written in casual contexts, but staden is grammatically correct for formal writing.
The English translation says into the city, but the Swedish just says till staden. Could I use in i instead?