30 Comments
So the suffixes when we want to make a noun definite is -en for males, -an for females and -net for neutral? Are there any other suffixes?
So the basic rule is that the suffix is -en, -an or -n for common nouns and -et or -t for neuter. But some words are irregular like vatten.
893
The word works like this:
en man 'a man'
mannen 'the man'
män 'men'
männen 'the men'.
Is there any difference between drinks/drinking, or is it only this verb where they're the same?
- 893
We just don't have a continuous form like is drinking, so our present covers both the English drinks and is drinking, this goes for all verbs.
Hi, I am also learning french and french also does not have specific preseng comtinuous forms of its verbs. But if really necessary there can used a specific "en train de"+verb. eg. je mange- i eat/ i am eating
Je en train de mange- i am in the act/ process of eating.
Does sweedish also have something like this?
- 893
Yes, either you can say håller på och … or use a construction with a position verb such as sitter 'sits' – Han sitter och läser in effect means 'He is reading' (while sitting down). There's a skill called Continuous that teaches this.
Why is it that for a woman it is "she is drinking water" but for a man it is "a man drinks water" may be a silly question but I mix them up
- 893
Those are just the main translations, we tried to use both since dricker could mean either drinks or is drinking. Both should be accepted in both places though, if they aren't, just report it!
(Mannen: The man ) --- (Männen : The men). The vowels are different that is it was why your answer was wrong. Also mans should be actually be men.
The present participle "drinking" vs. the active "drinks": 1) Is there ever a distinction between the two, or are they always synonymous? a) If there is a distinction, what grammar functions are used to convey the difference? 2) Is "present participle" part of the Swedish language?
When pronouncing 'dricker', why is there a 'huh' sound before the 'c', but no 'H' appears in the written version. Same goes for the pronunciation of 'vatten': I hear a 'huh' sound before the 'tt' but see no 'H' in the spelling of 'vatten'. What is the rule for this 'huh' sound?
- 893
As a native speaker, I don't hear any such sound there. Double consonants in Swedish mean that the vowel before them is short and that the consonant is long, single consonants mean the opposite – long vowel and short consonant. To double check, listen to native speakers say vatten and dricker here (the latter has a sound error at the start).
