Breakdown of Kikarna, med vilka vi ser fåglarna, är dyra.
vara
to be
vi
we
se
to see
fågeln
the bird
vilka
which (plural)
dyr
expensive
med
with
kikaren
the binoculars
Questions & Answers about Kikarna, med vilka vi ser fåglarna, är dyra.
Why does the sentence use med vilka instead of med som?
While som is the most common relative pronoun in Swedish, it cannot be placed directly after a preposition. In formal written Swedish, we instead use a preposition followed by vilken, vilket, or vilka. Since kikarna is plural, we use vilka.
How would this sentence be phrased in normal, everyday speech?
In spoken or less formal Swedish, you would use som and move the preposition to the end of the relative clause: Kikarna, som vi ser fåglarna med, är dyra.
Is kikarna singular or plural here? In English, binoculars are always plural.
It is plural here, referring to multiple pairs of binoculars. Unlike English, a single pair of binoculars is singular in Swedish: en kikare. If this sentence were about just one pair, it would be Kikaren, med vilken vi ser fåglarna, är dyr.
Why does the main verb är come directly after the comma?
This is the V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire subject of the main clause is Kikarna, which is merely being interrupted and modified by the relative clause inside the commas. Since the subject fills the first position, the main verb är must immediately take the second position.
Why is the definite plural of kikare spelled kikarna and not kikarena?
Kikare belongs to a group of nouns ending in -are, which usually denote professions or tools. When making them definite plural, they take the suffix -na, but the final -e of the root word is dropped to make the word easier to pronounce.
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