Breakdown of Majestätiska späckhuggare har en livslängd på upp till 90 år.
en
a, an (common)
ha
to have
till
to (direction, destination)
året
the year
upp
up
på
of (specifying measurement)
majestätisk
majestic (regal, stately)
späckhuggaren
the killer whale
livslängden
the lifespan
Questions & Answers about Majestätiska späckhuggare har en livslängd på upp till 90 år.
Why do we use på instead of av for "of" in en livslängd på?
In Swedish, when you post-modify a noun to specify its exact age, price, size, length, or capacity, you use the preposition på. While English "of" is often translated to av, measurements and specifications like a lifespan, a price, or a weight require på.
The word späckhuggare is an interesting compound. What does it literally mean?
It literally translates to "blubber chopper" or "blubber biter"! It is made up of späck (blubber or animal fat) and huggare (someone or something that chops, bites, or strikes, coming from the verb hugga).
Why does Majestätiska have an -a at the end if the killer whales aren't definite?
Even though späckhuggare is indefinite here, it is plural. In Swedish, adjectives modifying plural nouns take the -a ending in almost all cases, regardless of whether the noun is definite or indefinite.
Why doesn't the word år have a plural ending for "90 years"?
The word år is an ett-word that ends in a consonant. A basic rule to remember is that ett-words ending in a consonant do not change their form in the indefinite plural. Therefore, it is ett år (one year) and 90 år (90 years).
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