33 Comments
Are there any specific ways we know "barn" is plural or singular? I got a different translation wrong, I don't remember the sentence, but I used the singular when the plural was the correct one. However, either should have been correct. I suppose this might be a bug, I'll check it out and report it next time.
In the indefinite form you cannot tell the difference. But in the definite form "the child" - "barnet", but "the children" - "barnen"
Just looked back on this from 4 months ago. In this time, I've finished my tree, run the group on Facebook, translated Swedish news, and conversed with friends at a casual level.
They grow up so fast.
566
As a Sweden Finn I have to object :) As far as I know Finland has the highest consumption per capita.
Potato, potato... I guess we're avid caffeinists on both sides of the pond. :)
Potato? Reminds me I was never able to find out what the Sjöwall+Wahllöö title Polis, polis, potatismos! (which book of course I only read in a translation under a different name) was about...
Are all of these acceptable: "His child does not drink coffee", "His child is not drinking coffee", "His children do not drink coffee", "His children are not drinking coffee"?
- 953
Yes. It's because hans does not change. If it had been mitt/mina instead for instance, we would have known whether it's one child or many children.
You use sin/sitt/sina when you want to refer back to the he or she who was the subject of the sentence.
E.g. "Han bjöd sina barn på fika." = "He treated his kids to fika."
But in this case "hans barn" is the subject of the sentence.
- 159
Is "His children drink no coffee" acceptable or would there be a different way of saying that?
hey, why exactly is his kids on plural and not just his kid on singular? I wrote on singular and it was wrong :(
- 953
See David7697s comment above and my answer. The singular is accepted both with is not drinking and does not drink. Perhaps you had some other typo without noticing?
His child is sitt barn and his children is sina barn.
However sin/sitt/sina cannot be subject of a sentence, only object.
- 338
Does anyone knows how to find difference between "barn" singular & ""barn" plural ?
The first time I put: His child does not drink coffee.
It considered it wrong. Wouldnt it work in both, singular and plural, forms?
