Breakdown of Han har tre par stavar, men han behöver bara ett par.
ett
a, an (neuter)
han
he
behöva
to need
ha
to have
men
but
tre
three
bara
only, just
paret
the couple / the pair (of items)
staven
the ski pole
Questions & Answers about Han har tre par stavar, men han behöver bara ett par.
Why is it tre par instead of something like tre parer?
The word for pair, par, is an ett-word that ends in a consonant. In Swedish, ett-words ending in a consonant look exactly the same in the plural as they do in the singular. So, just like ett hus becomes tre hus, ett par becomes tre par.
Why is there no Swedish word for "of" in tre par stavar?
When you use a quantity or measure word in Swedish, you place it directly next to the noun it describes without using av (of). You do this with pairs (ett par skor), containers (en kopp kaffe), and weights (ett kilo mjöl).
Does the word stavar only mean ski poles?
No, en stav generally translates to a pole, rod, or staff. However, in everyday Swedish, especially if you are talking about having pairs of them, it is almost always understood as ski poles or Nordic walking poles.
If he needs one pair of poles, why does the sentence end with just ett par instead of ett par stavar?
Just like in English, you can drop the noun if it is already clear from the context. Since stavar was established in the first clause, the quantity phrase ett par stands perfectly well on its own.
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