Breakdown of Monteringen av leksaken tar mer tid än vad reklamfilmen säger.
vad
what
ta
to take
tiden
the time
leksaken
the toy
säga
to say
av
of, by / from (cause)
än
than
mer
more
reklamfilmen
the commercial (film/video)
monteringen
the assembly
Questions & Answers about Monteringen av leksaken tar mer tid än vad reklamfilmen säger.
Why does the sentence use än vad instead of just än?
The word vad acts as a "pro-form"—a placeholder word that stands in for the unstated amount of time. While you can grammatically say än reklamfilmen säger (than the commercial says), inserting vad (literally "than what") is extremely common in Swedish when comparing entire clauses or actions rather than just two nouns. It makes the comparison feel more complete and balanced.
Could I just say reklamen säger instead of reklamfilmen säger?
You could, but it changes the nuance. In Swedish, reklam is usually an uncountable noun meaning "advertising" or "marketing" in general. By making it the compound noun reklamfilm (advertising film), you are specifying the individual video commercial that you watched.
How is the noun monteringen formed from its verb?
It comes from the verb montera (to assemble, mount, or install). By replacing the final -a with the suffix -ing, you turn the verb into a noun: montering (assembly). Here, it has the definite ending -en tacked on to mean "the assembly" of this specific toy.
Is the verb ta always the standard way to express that an activity requires time?
Yes. Just like in English, Swedish uses the verb ta (to take) when talking about time duration. You will frequently hear and use phrases like det tar tid (it takes time) or hur lång tid tar det? (how much time does it take?).
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