Breakdown of Blir de där gatorna klara till påsken?
gatan
the street
bli
to become
de där
those
klar
ready / finished (doing something)
till
by (a future time)
påsken
the Easter
Questions & Answers about Blir de där gatorna klara till påsken?
Why does this sentence use the definite form påsken after till?
To refer to a specific upcoming holiday or season, Swedish pairs till with the definite form of the noun. So till påsken means 'by this coming Easter'. If you used the indefinite påsk, it would refer to Easter in a general, recurring sense.
Why is till translated as 'by' here instead of 'until'?
When setting a deadline for something to be finished, till translates to 'by' or 'for'. If you wanted to say the work would continue 'until' Easter, you would usually say fram till påsken instead.
Why use blir instead of kommer att vara for 'will be'?
While kommer att vara literally means 'will be', Swedish strongly prefers bli (to become) when talking about something getting finished or ready (klara). It focuses on the transition from being under construction to being completed.
Why is gatorna in the definite form if de där already points out 'those' streets?
This is an example of Swedish double definiteness, which is always a good concept to refresh. When you use demonstratives like den där, det där, or de där, the noun following them must also take its definite ending. It literally translates to 'those there the-streets'.
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