Breakdown of Tulltjänstemannen vill inspektera den stora containern.
stor
big
vilja
to want to
den
the (with en-words)
inspektera
to inspect (general, to examine)
containern
the container (shipping, dumpster)
tulltjänstemannen
the customs officer
Questions & Answers about Tulltjänstemannen vill inspektera den stora containern.
If the customs officer wanted to know where the container came from, how would we form that indirect question using varifrån?
You would say Tulltjänstemannen vill veta varifrån containern kommer. In this indirect question, varifrån connects the main clause to the subordinate clause. Since it is an indirect question, the word order after varifrån is strictly subject then verb.
Why do we use both den and the suffix -n on containern in the phrase den stora containern?
This is the Swedish double definiteness rule. When an adjective modifies a definite noun, you need the freestanding article den, the definite adjective form stora, and the definite noun suffix -n on containern. Learners often forget one of these pieces, but all three are strictly required.
What are the parts that make up the long compound word Tulltjänstemannen?
It is built from tull meaning customs and tjänsteman meaning official or white-collar worker. Because the root word is man, it takes the standard definite suffix to become mannen, giving us the final definite noun Tulltjänstemannen.
container is clearly borrowed from English. How do we form the plural of this loanword in Swedish?
Like many Swedish loanwords ending in -er, it drops the -e- before taking a plural ending. The indefinite plural is containrar and the definite plural is containrarna.
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