"Thank you for the apples!"
Translation:Tack för äpplena!
15 Comments
Well, different meanings. För means for and till means to, for or with depending on context and construction. Till can be a bit tricky, but keep practicing and you'll nail it soon enough. Wiktionary has a link with a few examples.
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Here's a theory. Till implies an action. Köper till. För is no action. Tack för. Is that true?
Not that I know of. Largely, it's quite irregular which preposition to use with different actions.
- 898
Not really, it's odd to leave out the subject here in Swedish. In English, thank you works as a unit where the subject is left out, but it doesn't work the same in Swedish.
So I thank you would be Jag tackar dig.
Äpplen = apples
Äpplena = the apples
The sentence above needs the definite plural, thus it's äpplena.
- 898
Thank you is a special expression in English – it is a sort of frozen expression. It "ought to be" I thank you, but "thank you" has become a unit that is used on its own. This hasn't happened in Swedish.
So I thank you would be Jag tackar dig
but thank you used as an expression is just tack (which works like thanks in English).
could you use 'åt'? if getting the apples was done as a favour to the other person?
- 898
No, åt would only be used like that to refer to the person you did it for. So Jag köpte äpplena åt Adam 'I bought the apples for Adam' would work.
There was no 'you' in Swedish version here, but English mentioned 'you'. Is this just in precise?
Well, prepositions are tricky and can have many different translations depending on context, so if I give a lengthy explanation I risk forgetting something. In this particular sentence, though, "Tack åt/till äpplena" would mean that you're extending your gratitude to the apples THEMSELVES, rather than the person who gave them to you.
