Breakdown of De uråldriga runorna är svåra att tyda.
vara
to be
att
to
svår
difficult
de
the (plural, before adjective)
tyda
to decipher
runan
the rune
uråldrig
ancient
Questions & Answers about De uråldriga runorna är svåra att tyda.
Why is it svåra (plural) here when I usually see phrases like Det är svårt att...?
This sentence is a great example of "Tough-movement" (Objektsuppflyttning). The grammatical subject of the sentence is De uråldriga runorna (plural), so the adjective svåra must agree with it. If we used the dummy subject det, the sentence would be Det är svårt att tyda de uråldriga runorna (It is hard to decipher the ancient runes), where svårt takes the neuter singular form to agree with det.
What does the prefix ur- mean in uråldriga?
The prefix ur- implies something original, primeval, or extremely old. Combined with åldrig (aged), it creates uråldrig (ancient or primeval). You will also see this prefix in words like ursprung (origin) or urkraft (primal force).
Why do we need the article De, the -a on uråldriga, and the -orna on runorna all at once?
This is a classic refresher on Swedish double definiteness. Because the noun is definite, we need the definite plural suffix on the noun (-orna). But because we added an adjective in front of it, we are forced to also add the independent definite article De at the front and the definite ending -a to the adjective itself (uråldriga).
What is the difference between tyda and just using läsa (to read)?
While you could technically use läsa, tyda specifically means to decipher, interpret, or make sense of something that is obscure or hard to read. It is the perfect vocabulary word for figuring out ancient texts, poor handwriting, or secret codes.
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