Posts tagged w/ direction

Position and Direction continued

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Sep
12
2009

A couple of posts back we were talking about those little words that denote such important things as position and direction. Boring stuff, yes I know, but very useful nonetheless.

So today let’s continue in the same vein and discuss här and där. And hit and dit.
You see, in English, it’s all the same, whether you’re talking about “here” as in “come here!” and “here” as in “I’m here.”

Unfortunately, it’s not as simple and straightforward in Swedish. Here (no pun intended) you have two different words that mean just that – “here”. And that’s how Swedish distinguishes between position and direction in much more clearer fashion than English does.

Of course, it’s not just “here” that falls into this category, but “there” as well. And before I totally confuse you, and you give up reading the rest of this post, why don’t we just take a look at these words and see what they’re all about.

So, here (again, no pun intended) we go:

position  -  direction

  • Where?  -  Where… to?  -  Where… from?
  • här (here)  – hit (here)  - härifrån (from there)
  • där (there)  -  dit (there)  -  därifrån (from there)

Don’t worry, they’re not as evil as they look. And once you get used to them, you will realize they’re actually very handy little words. I promise!

  • Jag trodde att du skulle komma hit. – I thought you were coming here.
  • Men jag är kvar här i Gävle. – But I’m still here in Gävle.
  • Jag åker härifrån om en timme. – I’m leaving (from) here in an hour.

So in other words, if you are somewhere and you’re not on the way there or from there, then you use “här” and “där.” If, however, you are coming or going, or talking about changing your position, then you should use “hit”/”härifrån” or “dit”/”därifrån” depending on whether you’re coming or going.

And as somebody very aptly noticed in the comments section, it’s not just the particles that differ depending on whether they talk about position and direction, but the question words as well.

And it goes like this:

  • Expressions of position (befintlighet) answer to the question “var?” (where?).
  • Expressions of direction (riktning) answer to the questions “vart?” (where…to?) and “varifrån?” (where…from?).

I know it takes a little bit of getting used to, but in the end, it’s not all that complicated. Unless of course, you are like me, and half the time you don’t know whether you’re coming or going, or what not.  And I mean it in a strictly innocent way.

:)

 
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Particles of Position and Direction

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Sep
5
2009

Uhuh, I knew this day would come. I knew that sooner or later someone would email me asking about the difference between “hemma” and “hem” and “hemifrån”. “Ute” and “ut”, and “inne” and “in”. Yeah, you get the picture…

It’s not very exciting stuff (hey, I’d much rather write about the lovely city of Lund), I know, I know, but essential nonetheless.

So what’s the deal with those particles?
Well, just like in English, in Swedish there’s a whole bunch of little words that are used to denote position (“where?”) and direction (“where to?” and “where from?”).

The two bits that often get confused by people learning Swedish are the ones that describe “where?” and “where to?” Why? They translate into English more or less as the same words.

So let’s take a closer look at them.

Position    –       Direction:
Where? –        Where to?        –         Where from?

  • hemma (at home) – hem (home) – hemifrån (from home)
  • borta (away) – bort (away) – bortifrån (from a long way away)
  • inne (inside, indoors) – in (in, inside, indoors) – inifrån (from inside)
  • ute (outside, outdoors) – ut (out, outside, outdoors) – utifrån (from outside)
  • uppe (up [there]) – upp (up) – uppifrån (from above)
  • nere (down [there]) – ner, ned (down) – nerifrån (from below)
  • frame (in front [here]) – fram (forward, on) – framifrån (from the front)

Sven är hemma nu. – Sven is at home now.
Åsa måste gå hemifrån kl. 8 varje morgon. – Åsa has to leave home at 8 every morning.
Jag kommer hem kl. 7. – I get home at 7.

But wait, that’s not all.
Let’s say you are talking about places on a map. Then, just like you would in English, you use uppe (up) and nere (down) to describe places north and south of where you are (unless of course, you’re talking about Maine, which is always “down east” no matter where you are).

De bor nere i Lund. - They live down in Lund.
Sommaren tillbringar de uppe i Kiruna. – They spend the summer up in Kiruna.

PS. And I have no clue where my recent obsession with Lund came from. :)

 
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