Breakdown of Munken har bott i klostret sedan han var ett barn.
vara
to be
ett
a, an (neuter)
barnet
the child
han
he
bo
to live
i
in
ha
to have
munken
the monk
klostret
the monastery
sedan
since (from a point in time)
Questions & Answers about Munken har bott i klostret sedan han var ett barn.
The lesson says sedan requires the present perfect. Why is the second verb (var) in the past tense?
The main clause uses the present perfect (har bott) because the monk's living situation started in the past and continues today. The sedan subclause uses the simple past (var) because it marks the specific, completed time in the past when that action began.
Is sedan a conjunction or a preposition in this sentence?
It functions as a conjunction here because it introduces a complete subclause with its own subject and verb (han var). If the sentence just said sedan barndomen (since childhood), it would be acting as a preposition.
The base word is kloster. Why is it spelled klostret here and not klosteret?
Ett kloster (a monastery) is a neuter word. When making it definite (the monastery), you add -et. However, words ending in -er, -el, or -en often drop their final vowel before the definite ending to make pronunciation smoother, giving us klostret.
Can sedan be shortened to sen in this context?
Yes! In spoken Swedish and informal writing, sedan is almost always pronounced and written as sen. You will very often hear: Munken har bott i klostret sen han var ett barn.
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