Breakdown of Jag köper ett par nya skidbyxor.
jag
I
ett
a, an (neuter)
köpa
to buy
ny
new
paret
the couple / the pair (of items)
skidbyxorna
the ski pants
Questions & Answers about Jag köper ett par nya skidbyxor.
Why do we use ett par to count skidbyxor instead of just using an article like en?
Skidbyxor (ski pants) is a plural noun that refers to a single item of clothing, much like in English. Because it is grammatically plural, you cannot use the singular articles en or ett. To count one item of a plural noun, you must use a quantifier phrase like ett par (a pair of).
Since ett par contains the ett article, why is the adjective nya in the plural form rather than the ett form (nytt)?
The adjective nya modifies the plural noun skidbyxor, not the word par. When ett par functions as a quantifier (meaning "a set of"), the following adjective always agrees with the actual noun being described. Since skidbyxor is plural, the adjective takes the plural -a ending.
How is the compound word skidbyxor formed? Why isn't it skidorbyxor?
When building compound words in Swedish, the first noun often uses its root form rather than its plural or definite form. The singular word skida (ski) drops its final -a to create the combining root skid-, which is then glued directly to byxor (pants).
If I were buying multiple pairs of ski pants, how would I change ett par nya skidbyxor?
You would simply change the number before par. For example, to say "two pairs of new ski pants", you would say två par nya skidbyxor. The word par is an ett-word ending in a consonant, so its form looks exactly the same in both singular and plural.
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