Posts tagged with "gå"

Swedish Verb Synonyms

Posted by Tibor 5 Comments
Nov 10 2010

Let’s say this is the second part of the synonyms on the Swedish blog. This time I try to explain to you some verb with slightly different meanings. The sentences I have chosen describe the action that the meaning of the verb stands for. So for example in the first sentence flanera means to walk around slowly with no special aim. The adverbs are always a great help when memorizing the words. The adverbs are so good for describing the verb/action.

 But honestly I don´t know when I said for example spankulera last time. But it is very funny so I will start spreading it!!!

Synonyms of “to go“: (But don´t forget that you can almost always mix and match most of these words since they are synonyms of each other) 

  • Jag flanerade långsamt och elegant omkring helt utan mål i Paris. (I strolled slowly and elegantly around without any aims in Paris.)
  • Vad smyger du runt här för så försiktigt? (Why are you sneaking around so carefully?)
  • Han lunkade sävligt i sin egen takt. (He was ambling leisurely in his own pace.)
  • Peter knallade ner till pressbyrån på gatan. (Peter walked down to the newsstand on the street.)
  • Det tog honom tre timmar att traska  med möda genom skogen, men till slut hittade han vägen ut. (It took him three hours to trudge painfully through the forest, but he found his way out at last.)
  • Hon gick från stånd till stånd i affären och spankulerade utan brådska. (She went from stall to stall in the shop and was walking around without being in a hurry).
  • Klara tog ett glas vin i handen och trippade omkring på tårna som en konstig, liten flicka på diskoteket. (Klara took a glas of wine in her hand and was tripping around /walking along with mincing steps) like an odd, little girl in the disco.)
  • Hon struttade omkring med stötiga steg som en anka. (She was walking around with jerky steps as a duck.)
  • Ska vi promenera genom parken? (Shall vi take a walk/promenade through the park?)
  • Varför går du och strosar här på min mark utan tillstånd, frågade ägaren? (Why are you sauntering here on my land without any permission, asked the owner?)

* gå och strosa is a common expression.

A little grammar extension for this post:

You don´t have gerund aka. Continuous tense in Swedish but you have something similar. There are of course several ways to express and translate gerundium from English to Swedish, but if you would like to express for example a continuous action then you can use constructions of two verbs at the same time in Swedish like;

Jag ligger och sover. Han sitter och läser. Jag står och väntar på bussen or Jag går och strosar omkring.

Åka or Gå?

Posted by Transparent Language 6 Comments
Oct 12 2008

Today’s topic is one that confuses many Swedish learners – those pesky verbs that are deceptively similar, have pretty much the same meaning in English, yet in Swedish are used in a completely different context. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Actually, Swedish has quite a few such verb combinations. But today we’ll start with the one that causes the most grief when you’re learning Swedish – gå and åka.

Both of those verbs can be translated as “to go” in English and that’s the beginning of confusion. My dictionary says that:

  • Gå means: to walk, to march, to go, to travel, to depart, to pass, to sail, to run, and that’s just the first few definitions.

But then again, my dictionary says that:

  • Åka means: to go, to travel, to drive.

Not very helpful, wouldn’t you say? Fortunately, the Swedish-Swedish dictionary offers some more constructive suggestions:

  • gå (går, gick, gått) – flytta sig med hjälp av fötterna på vanligt sätt, röra sig åt något håll, lämna en plats.
  • åka (åker, åkte, åkt) – röra sig med hjälp av något, resa.

While on the surface this is a bit more helpful, I think the only way to see how it works in practice is to give you some practical examples. Which may or may not confuse you further.

So, basically åka means to move from place to place with a help of something, like for example, a car, or a bus, or a pair of skis. Take a look:

  • åka bil – to go by car
  • åka cykel – to go by bike
  • åka buss – to go by bus
  • åka skidor – to ski

When you travel someplace, you åker there, for example:

  • åka till fjällen – to go to the mountains
  • åka utomlands – to go abroad

So far so good, seems simple enough. Enter gå and things get a lot more complicated.

  • Går det här tåget till Malmö? – Does this train go to Malmö?
  • Vart går den här vägen? – Where does this road go (lead) to?
  • Hoppas att resan går bra. – Hope the trip goes well.
  • gå i skolan / gå i kyrkan = to go to school / to go to church
  • gå på bio = to go to the movies
  • ha svårt (för) att gå = to have difficulty walking (to walk)
  • Ljus går mycket snabbare än ljud. – Light travels much faster than sound.

So, basically, when it comes to people, if you schlep the old-fashioned way on foot, you går. If you jump on a train, bus or bike, you åker.

I hope this was a tiny wee bit helpful. :)

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