Breakdown of Taken, på vilka fåglarna häckar, är höga.
vara
to be
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
taket
the roof
fågeln
the bird
vilka
which (plural)
hög
high / loudly
häcka
to breed
Questions & Answers about Taken, på vilka fåglarna häckar, är höga.
Why do we use på vilka here instead of just som?
Vilka is used after a preposition in formal written Swedish to mean "which". In everyday speech, you would typically use som and move the preposition to the end of the clause: Taken, som fåglarna häckar på, är höga. Because taken is a plural noun, we use vilka (if it were singular, we would use vilket or vilken depending on the gender).
Why is the word order fåglarna häckar after på vilka instead of the verb coming first?
Even though på vilka starts the clause, it is a relative clause, not a question or a main clause. In Swedish relative clauses, the subject (fåglarna) always comes before the verb (häckar), so the standard V2 (verb-second) rule that you use in main clauses does not apply here.
Is taken plural here? It looks like the singular definite form of an en-word.
Yes, it is plural! Tak (roof) is an ett-word that does not change in the indefinite plural (ett tak, flera tak). To make it definite plural ("the roofs"), you add -en, becoming taken. The adjective höga (high) at the end of the sentence is also a big clue that the subject is plural.
What exactly does häckar mean, and is it used for animals other than birds?
Häckar specifically means "breeds" or "nests" and is used almost exclusively for birds. For other animals, you would typically use a verb like förökar sig (reproduce) or parar sig (mate).
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