Word
Tryckpressen revolutionerade kommunikationen, vilket förändrade världen.
Meaning
The printing press revolutionized communication, which changed the world.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Tryckpressen revolutionerade kommunikationen, vilket förändrade världen.
vilket
which / what a (ett-word)
världen
the world
förändra
to transform, change fundamentally
tryckpressen
the printing press
Questions & Answers about Tryckpressen revolutionerade kommunikationen, vilket förändrade världen.
Why do we say Tryckpressen (the printing press) instead of the plural tryckpressarna to talk about the invention in general?
This is the categorical use of the definite singular. In Swedish, just like in English sometimes, you can use the definite singular form to represent an entire class of things, an invention, or a species, rather than one specific physical object.
Why is it kommunikationen (the communication) instead of just kommunikation? English doesn't use 'the' here.
In Swedish, abstract concepts or general phenomena (like communication, nature, or science) usually take the definite form when you are talking about them in a broad, universal sense. Since the printing press revolutionized the entire concept of communication, Swedish requires the definite kommunikationen.
Why use vilket (which) here instead of the standard relative pronoun som?
We use vilket when 'which' refers back to an entire preceding clause or idea, rather than a specific noun. Here, it wasn't just the communication that changed the world; it was the entire fact that the printing press revolutionized communication. When referring back to a whole sentence, you must use vilket (or något som).
Could I use ändrade instead of förändrade for 'changed'?
It is much better to use förändrade here. While both mean 'changed', ändra is typically used for concrete, specific modifications (like changing your clothes, a password, or a meeting time). Förändra is used for deeper, more fundamental, or abstract transformations, such as changing the world.