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Posts tagged with "verbs"
You guys have surely been wondering what the differences are between these three words. It is nothing strange with them, since everyone can find similar words in their own languages. But sometimes it can happen that you would use a different verb in cases when tänka, tycka, tro are used in Swedish. It can be tricky. Sometimes the translation of these words can crossmatch with each other. And you get confused. But do not be afraid to ask the person you are talking to if they really have a strong opinion on something or just assume something.
I would like to exemplify these words with some sentences:
1. Tänka=to think (where Swedish means imagine) or physically thinking (when in English you think about something) or to intend.
*Please note that tänka can be combined with different prepositions like ( tänka om, tänka på, tänka ut, tänka över etc.) that changes the meaning of the expression.
a, Tänk om vi kunde flyga!/ Imagine if we could fly!
b, Jag kan inte tänka. Jag är för utmattad./I can´t think. I am too exhausted.
c, Jag tänker ta ett bad nu./I am going to take a bath now.
*Please note the translation. In these cases tänker works like a modal auxiliary/verb.
or
Jag tänker åka till Stockholm./I intend…
*Please note that Swedish means I have a plan to do something in the near future.
2. Tycka=to have an opinion about something (where English sometimes can use think).
a, Jag tycker att han är snäll./(where Swedish means in my opinion/I have an opinion about him or in my understanding he is…) I think he is nice.
or
Jag tycker vi ska gå ut./I think we should go out. (opinion)
or
Jag tycker du har rätt./I think you are right. (opinion)
b, Jag tyckte du sa att du inte kunde komma på fredag./I thought you said, that you couldn´t come on friday. (out of my perspective I was certain about something)
* Please note that in constructions like these Swedish talks about missunderstandings, but the verb trodde can also be used.
Jag trodde du sa att du inte kunde komma på fredag./I thought you said, that you couldn´t come on friday. (I assumed but I wasn´t certain)
c, tycka om= to like
Jag tycker om dig./I like you
*Please note that tycka om is considered as a verb of its own.
3. Tro= to believe or think
a, Jag tror på Gud/I beleive in God.
* Please note that when the verb is together with a preposition gives another meaning.
b, Anna:Kommer han på festen ikväll? (Anna: Is he coming to the party tonight?)
Per: Jag vet inte, men jag tror det/I don´t know but I think so.
c, Jag har aldrig varit i Grekland, men jag tror att det är fint där/I have never been to Greece, but I think (where Swedish means I assume or suppose) it is nice there. (innan du har sett den-before you have seen it)
Last time when we talked about Swedish supines (in Swedish it’s the verb form that’s used in perfect tenses,) and past participles (in Swedish, it’s the verb form that’s used as an adjective), I picked a really tough example – “skriva” (to write).
Of course, since “skriva” is an irregular verb (just like in English), things got a bit complicated when I tried to explain what Swedish past participles are and how they are used.
But at least we got the hard bit out of the way and today you can breathe easy, because past participles of regular verbs are very straightforward. Don’t you just love regular verbs?
You see, with regular verbs, you just stick some letters to the end of the word, or add something to the verb’s basic form.
1. For example, “d” is added to longish verbs that end in “a” or to those that have a voiced consonant in the basic form, like this:
- intressera + d → intresserad – interested
- öka + d → ökad – increased
glömma – first you remove the ending and you get “glöm”, then you add “d”
- glöm + d → glömd – forgotten
stänga – first you remove the ending and you get “stäng”, then you add “d”
- stäng + d → stängd – closed
2. Ok, how about verbs that in their basic form (when you remove the ending “a”) end in a voiceless consonant, such as p, t, k, and s? To form past participles of those guys, you add “t” to the basic form:
- köp + t → köpt – bought
- tänk + t → tänkt – thought
- läs + t → läst – read
Then sometimes “dd” is added to certain verbs. Those are normally verbs that end in a loooooong, stressed vowel, in other words, very short verbs such as:
- tro + dd → trod – believed
- klä + dd → klädd – dressed
See? That wasn’t so bad now, was it?
Unfortunately, when it comes to Swedish past participles, you have to remember that they are not like English past participles, but rather like adjectives that are used to describe nouns. It may seem complicated and difficult at first, but as one of the readers very aptly pointed out, it’s still nothing when compared with romance languages.
Still, too much grammar in one sitting is not good for anyone, so we will stop here for now. Next time we’ll tackle those irregular past participles in greater detail. Because when you look at them carefully, you’ll notice that they’re not all that irregular after all.
You know how I always tell you that Swedish is so similar to English that learning it should be a cake-walk really?
Well, today, I will break with this long-standing tradition and instead I’m going to tell you that Swedish is not like English at all and that it can be quite hard to get it right.
I’ve never even thought about this issue, because well, frankly, it’s never even crossed my mind. Until I had to help someone deal with supines and past participles. And the trouble began.
“Wait!” I hear you say, “isn’t it, like, pretty much basic and easy in English?”
Yes it is. But it’s not so easy in Swedish. Especially for an English speaker (hence I kindly ask all native Swedes reading this blog post to please consider this fact while commenting, thank you).
You see, the English supine is the bare naked infinitive form, the kind we stick “to” in front of.
But in Swedish, the supine is the stuff we use to construct perfect tenses – as in “jag har/hade + Swedish supine.
So, it looks like the Swedish supine is what in English we’d call a past participle.
So, what’s a past participle in Swedish? Hmmm… It’s also a verb form, but it’s used as an adjective. And it also follows the same rules as all normal adjectives do.
So, let’s take a look at this:
- skriva – to write
and in all the tenses:
- skriver – write (present tense)
- skrev – wrote (past tense)
- skrivit – written (used in perfect tenses – this “skrivit” is the Swedish supine)
and
- skriven – “written” as an adjective – this is the Swedish past participle, this form is used with “en” nouns
- skrivet – “written” as an adjective – this form is used with “ett” nouns
and
- skrivna – “written” as an adjective – this form is used with plural nouns.
“Ouch!” I hear you say and I don’t blame you. Maybe these very simple examples will make it clearer:
- Någon har skrivit ett brev. – Someone has written a letter. – That’s our garden variety present perfect tense. Nothing complicated here. “Skrivit” is the Swedish supine.
- Detta brev var skrivet på engelska. – This letter was written in English. – “Brev” is an “ett” noun and the past participle form we need to use here is “skrivet”.
- Denna text var skriven i december 2008. – This text was written in December 2008. – “Text” is an “en” noun and the past participle form that matches it is “skriven”.
- Alla gamla böcker var skrivna på latin. – All old books were written in Latin. – “Böcker” is a plural noun, and so we need to use the plural form of past participle, which in this case is “skrivna”.
Of course I made it difficult for you by choosing an irregular verb for these examples, so next time I’ll show you how this Swedish past participle stuff works with normal, boring, regular verbs, OK?
Do you like learning about verbs? I mean, learning foreign verbs? If you’re like me, you probably love it and detest it, depending on the weather.
Someone asked me not so long ago about a good book when it comes to mastering Swedish verbs. And I think I mentioned “201 Swedish Verbs (fully conjugated in all the tenses)” but honestly, I don’t know what on earth I was thinking.
“201 Swedish Verbs (fully conjugated in all the tenses)” by Richard Auletta and Leif Sjöberg, ISBN 0-8120-0528-7
I have this book. And let me tell you, as far as verb books go, this one is well, how to put it nicely… I guess “mediocre” will have to do.
The concept is great. I’ve used books from this series (Barron’s Educational Series) for learning Spanish and French. I liked how they explained everything in excruciating detail, and how the verbs were presented in all the tenses and forms and what not. It was designed for dummies like me. It was just perfect.
But the “201 Swedish Verbs” book is far from perfect. Why? Oh, let me count the ways!
- 1. Swedish verbs stay the same regardless of which subject pronoun you use, whether it is jag, du, han, hon, vi, ni or de, the verb form stays the same.
Yet, all the forms with their applicable pronouns are listed on every page
- 2. Just like in English, some Swedish verbs are irregular. But many are perfectly regular, and after you’ve seen a couple of them, you can follow the pattern in your sleep.Yet, such perfectly regular verbs as “arbeta” (to work) and “baka” (to bake) and “börja” (to begin) and many, many others are included in the book.
- 3. Some Swedish verbs are very similar to the ones in English. So similar in fact, that you have absolutely no doubt regarding their meaning.Yet such verbs are also included in this book: “kritisera” (to criticize) and “öppna” (to open) for example. And wouldn’t you know it? It’s a regular verb, too!
- 4. Most foreign language learners are interested mainly in irregular verbs, right? Those are the ones that give students the most trouble.
So why not make a book chock-full of irregular verbs instead?
- 5. The book was first published in 1975. It claims to include all the verbs which occur in the three thousand words in Swedish. Well, that might have been the case in 1975, but really, who in this day and age uses the word “to curtsy” (niga)?
In the authors defense, it IS an irregular verb, though it’s far from a common one these days.
The book is in a desperate need of an update, that much is clear.
Yet, if you are struggling with Swedish verbs, this might be a helpful choice.