Breakdown of Vi har alltid svärdet till hands.
vi
we
alltid
always
ha
to have
svärdet
the sword
till hands
at hand
Questions & Answers about Vi har alltid svärdet till hands.
Why does the word hand have an "s" at the end in till hands?
This is a fossilized genitive. Historically in Swedish, the preposition till forced the following noun into the genitive case, adding an "s". While modern Swedish no longer uses cases this way, the old form survives in fixed expressions like till hands (at hand/available), just like till skogs (to the woods) or till sjöss (at sea).
Does till hands only apply to physical objects like svärdet?
No, it is very versatile. While here it means the sword is physically within reach, till hands broadly means "available" or "handy." You can use it for abstract things, like having facts or information till hands, or even people, such as staff being till hands to help customers.
Why is there no definite article on hands here?
Fossilized expressions with till almost always use the bare, indefinite form of the noun. The phrase till hands functions as a fixed unit meaning "available," so it doesn't refer to a literal, specific hand. Therefore, it never takes an article. You cannot say "till handen" to mean "at hand."
As a quick refresher, why does alltid go right after the verb har?
In standard Swedish main clauses, sentence adverbs like alltid (always), inte (not), and aldrig (never) are usually placed immediately after the first verb. Placing it at the end of the sentence, which you can sometimes do in English, would sound unnatural here.
Learn Vi har alltid svärdet till hands and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free