Topic: Swedish

"Jag älskar inte dig utan honom."

Translation:I do not love you, but him.

November 19, 2014

8 Comments

https://www.duolingo.com/Torsby

    Well, now I know how to break a heart in Swedish...

    November 19, 2014
    https://www.duolingo.com/nunes89
    • 54

    So, utan can mean both "but" and "without"? How does it work? Just like French? (Je n'aime que les fraises - you don't like anything, excluding the strawberries, which in English this "que" would be "but" - I don't like anything but strawberries) I think I went too far xD

    November 19, 2014
    https://www.duolingo.com/Anders91

      Yes it can. If we use it to start a dependent clause, it means "but", otherwise it's "without".

      • Jag spelar inte tennis, utan hockey. (I don't play tennis, but hockey.)
      • Varm choklad utan vispgrädde. (Hot chocolate without cream.)
      November 19, 2014
      https://www.duolingo.com/MHungerford72
      • 4

      Is the swedish sentence missing a comma?

      November 21, 2014
      https://www.duolingo.com/Anders91

        There are no set rules for one to use a comma, so both yes and no.

        November 22, 2014
        https://www.duolingo.com/darkjediknight11

          it's severely confusing not to have any commas in these sentences

          November 24, 2014
          https://www.duolingo.com/clayKaboom
          • 141

          I answered "I do not love you without him". Then I thought at first is that it meant something like "I don't like to see you without him", so if this a common confusion, a comma would become handy.

          November 25, 2014
          https://www.duolingo.com/Anders91

            That's a good point, it could actually mean that. I have reported the sentence now.

            November 26, 2014
            AboutDuolingo English TestMobileGearHelpGuidelinesJobsTermsPrivacy
            Learn Swedish in just 5 minutes a day. For free.