Breakdown of Gruset är billigt medan tegelstenarna är dyra.
vara
to be
billig
cheap
dyr
expensive
medan
while
Questions & Answers about Gruset är billigt medan tegelstenarna är dyra.
Why is the adjective billigt in the t-form while dyra ends in -a?
Adjectives in Swedish must agree with the noun they describe. Grus (gravel) is an ett-word, so in the singular, its adjective takes a -t ending to become billigt. Tegelstenarna (the bricks) is plural, so its adjective takes the plural -a ending to become dyra.
Can I use under tiden instead of medan here since they both translate to 'while'?
No. While medan can mean 'while' referring to time, it is also used to mean 'whereas' to contrast two things, exactly as it does here. Under tiden only means 'meanwhile' or 'during that time' and is never used to contrast two facts.
Does gruset here mean 'the gravel' in a specific sense, or 'gravel' in general?
It refers to specific gravel, like when comparing materials you are about to buy. If you were making a universal statement that gravel is always a cheap material, you would use the indefinite form and say grus är billigt, just like in English.
How do you break down the compound word tegelstenarna?
It is made up of tegel, which refers to the baked clay or terracotta material, and stenarna, which is the plural definite form of en sten (a stone). So en tegelsten literally means a 'terracotta stone,' which is how Swedish says 'a brick.'