Breakdown of Fick du hjärtern eller knekten av honom?
du
you (singular)
honom
him
eller
or
av
of, by / from (cause)
få
to get, receive
hjärtern
the heart (suit in cards)
knekten
the jack
Questions & Answers about Fick du hjärtern eller knekten av honom?
Since this lesson is about partitive constructions like 'en av böckerna', does av honom mean 'of him' here?
No, in this sentence av means 'from', indicating the source. When paired with verbs of receiving like få (to get), av translates to 'from'. You are learning about the partitive 'of', which uses the exact same preposition, but the verb fick here changes the context to receiving 'from him'.
Why is the word for 'the heart' written as hjärtern instead of hjärtat?
In Swedish, the physical body part 'a heart' is an ett-word (ett hjärta, definite form hjärtat). However, when talking about the suit of hearts in a deck of cards, it is an en-word: en hjärter, making its definite form hjärtern.
Could I say från honom instead of av honom?
People would understand you, but Swedish strongly prefers av when you receive, buy, or borrow something from a person. The preposition från is generally reserved for places or physical movement, such as traveling from a city.
Is knekten only used for card games?
Today, yes. In a deck of cards, en knekt is 'a jack'. Historically, the word meant a soldier (specifically a foot soldier) or a male servant, which is why the card is sometimes called a 'knave' in older English.
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