Breakdown of Ett av essen och en av knektarna saknas.
och
and
av
of, by / from (cause)
saknas
to be missing
en
one (of a group)
Questions & Answers about Ett av essen och en av knektarna saknas.
Why is it Ett av essen but then en av knektarna?
In Swedish, the word for "one" in these partitive expressions must match the grammatical gender of the noun it refers to. Ess (ace) is an ett-word, so we use Ett. Knekt (jack) is an en-word, so we use en.
Why are both essen and knektarna in the definite plural form?
When you want to express a quantity out of a defined group, you need to make the group specific. Just like in English where we say "one of the aces", Swedish requires the definite plural forms essen and knektarna after av. Using the indefinite plural here would sound like "one of aces", which is grammatically incomplete.
What is the base form of essen?
The singular is ett ess (an ace). Because it is an ett-word that ends in a consonant, it does not change in the indefinite plural, so you say flera ess (several aces). To make it definite plural ("the aces"), you add the suffix -en, which gives you essen.
I see that saknas ends in -s. Is this a passive verb?
Historically, it is the passive form of sakna (to lack or to miss), literally meaning "is being lacked". However, it is usually treated as a deponent verb, which is a verb with an -s ending that functions with an active meaning in modern Swedish. It translates smoothly to "is missing" or "are missing".