Breakdown of Sömmen på kängan är trasig.
vara
to be
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
trasig
broken
kängan
the boot (lace-up or ankle boot)
sömmen
the seam
Questions & Answers about Sömmen på kängan är trasig.
Why do we use på here instead of saying kängans söm?
While kängans söm is grammatically correct, Swedish strongly prefers using the preposition på (literally "on") to express possession when talking about parts of an inanimate whole. You will see this constantly with physical objects, like taket på huset (the roof of the house) or sömmen på kängan (the seam of the boot).
Why does söm get a double 'm' in its definite form (sömmen)?
This is a spelling rule to keep the vowel short. The word söm has a short 'ö' sound. When adding the definite ending -en, if we only wrote sömen, the 'ö' would be pronounced as a long vowel. Doubling the consonant to sömmen preserves the short vowel sound.
What is the difference between a känga and a stövel?
A känga is typically a sturdy, lace-up boot that goes up to around the ankle or lower calf, like a hiking boot or a combat boot. A stövel, on the other hand, is usually a taller, pull-on boot, like a rain boot (gummistövel) or a riding boot.
Does the adjective trasig agree with sömmen or kängan?
It agrees with sömmen (the seam), which is the main subject of the sentence. Both söm and känga happen to be en-words, so trasig takes the basic form either way. However, if you were talking about the lace of a shoe (snöret på skon är trasigt), the adjective would add a 't' to agree with the ett-word snöre, completely ignoring the en-word sko.
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