Breakdown of Vi ser fåglarna, på vilka stjärten är blå.
vara
to be
vi
we
se
to see
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
fågeln
the bird
vilka
which (plural)
blå
blue
stjärten
the tail (of a bird or fish)
Questions & Answers about Vi ser fåglarna, på vilka stjärten är blå.
Why do we use på vilka here instead of a more common word like som?
på vilka translates to 'on which' and is a formal construction. When a relative clause relies on a preposition, formal Swedish often places the preposition before vilken, vilket, or vilka. In everyday spoken Swedish, you would usually rephrase this to sound more natural, for example by using som har en blå stjärt (that have a blue tail) or the possessive vars (whose).
Why is the relative pronoun vilka instead of vilken or vilket?
The relative pronoun must agree in number and gender with the noun it refers back to. Because it points back to fåglarna (the birds), which is plural, we use the plural form vilka. If the sentence were about a single bird (fågeln), you would use the common-gender singular form på vilken.
Since there are multiple birds, why is stjärten (the tail) singular rather than plural?
This is due to the distributive singular. In Swedish, when a group of humans or animals each possess exactly one of a specific body part or item of clothing, the singular form is preferred. While English usually says 'their tails', Swedish focuses on the fact that each individual bird has only one tail.
Why does the sentence use the definite form stjärten (the tail) instead of a possessive like deras stjärt (their tail)?
Swedish heavily prefers using the definite form for body parts and clothing when the owner is already clear from the context. Since the clause is already linked to the birds via på vilka, adding a possessive pronoun is unnecessary and would sound unnatural.
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