Breakdown of Ligger hängslena bakom skidglasögonen?
bakom
behind
ligga
to lie (be in a horizontal position) / to be located, be situated
hängslena
the suspenders
skidglasögonen
the ski goggles
Questions & Answers about Ligger hängslena bakom skidglasögonen?
Both hängslena and skidglasögonen are definite plurals. Why do they take different endings?
It depends on their declension. Skidglasögon ends in ögon (the irregular plural of the ett-word öga), which takes the definite suffix -en to become skidglasögonen. Hängslen is also an ett-word, but its indefinite plural already ends in -n, so it just adds -a to make the definite form hängslena.
Since these words are pluralia tantum (words mostly used in the plural), how do we count them?
You use the phrase ett par (a pair of) followed by the indefinite plural noun, just like in English. For example, ett par hängslen (one pair of suspenders) or två par skidglasögon (two pairs of ski goggles). Remember that par is an ett-word that doesn't change in the plural, which is why it remains två par.
Why does this sentence use ligger (lies) instead of just är (are)?
While är is grammatically correct, Swedish strongly prefers positional verbs like ligger (lying), står (standing), or hänger (hanging) to describe where physical objects are located. Since suspenders and goggles are usually left resting flat on a surface rather than standing upright, ligger is the most natural choice.