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- Topic: Swedish >
- "Äntligen ser du mig!"
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Both work because this adverb modifies the sentence instead of the verb?
Adverb positioning is frequently quite loose in Swedish - there are many adverbs you could put in either position here, as long as the v2 rule and SVO are followed.
I've been trying to work out when to pronounce a hard 'g' as in the English 'get' and a 'y' sound for the letter g. It doesnt help that the voiced pronounciation of 'Äntligen' as part of the whole sentence pronounces a hard g, but if you click on just the word it pronounces the g with a 'y' sound.
Hi Stallya. änt-ligen = end-like which is not used in English but -in the end- comes close. Corresponding word in German = endlich, which can mean exactly the same as -äntligen-.
1371
If you speak German: it's the same as endlich. Endlich siehst du mich. Äntligen ser du mig.
Would you use this sentence if you had waited a week for an appointment with the doctor, for example?
No, in this context it refers only to actual seeing with your eyes. You'd have to use träffa for your example, or perhaps ta emot ("receive").
And if you wanted to say See me finally!, in more of a command form, how would you say it?
Could you provide a little context of what you mean? I'll make a try.
Well, I meant it in the sense of having someone refuse to see you, and you go to them and tell them to finally see you. Imagine a melodramatic movie where the main heroine is being overlooked by the swave but oblivious hero ... So Tearful scene, and she says SEE ME, Finally! and the swesub would be....
That's quite a context... :D
Perhaps träffa mig, till slut! could fit that, but it's a bit strange a sentence.
If you were to make this statement into a question, what would the word order be?
- 1477
You make questions by putting the verb first. [If there's a question word (like var, när hur 'where, when, how') it goes first of all, but here there isn't one]. So as a question, it would be Ser du mig äntligen?
I understand that putting a verb first in a sentence makes it a question, but isn't it already in V-S-O form? 'Ser du mig?' means 'Do you see me?', but putting 'äntligen' in front of it suddenly turns it into a statement. This is what I'm having trouble understanding. Can you explain?
My first question wasn't worded properly. Sorry if I'm being a bit slow here. XD
- 1477
It's the V2 rule. In statements (except subclauses), the verb needs to go in second place. This is why it turns into a statement again when you put äntligen first: the verb comes second again.
The only time the verb can be in second place in a question is if the first word is a question word, like who, but then it's sort of obvious that it is a question anyway.
So it's not the V-S-O form that makes it a question, it is putting the verb first that does. A statement can be Adverbial-V-S-O.
Tack så mycket! I have been struggling with this. Thoroughly read the word order essay a few times but still was having issues with working out how to differentiate between a question and a statement in this context. This comment finally made sense to me. (Now I am wishing I had learnt English grammar more formally at school!)
- 1477
That's one of the tricky things about grammar – it usually never sticks on the first try. But if you keep at it, you get it eventually. So it's great that you're being persistent! :)
To sum up, in Swedish, a question can start with either:
- A verb. Läser du? 'Are you reading?'
- A question word: Vad läser du? 'What are you reading?'
- A phrase that has the same function as a question word: Hur många böcker läser du? 'How many books are you reading?'
Hello, sir why can't I see the comments I followed? there is no notification for me
The pronunciation for the individual "äntligen" seems to be different than when listening to the whole sentence (the g is pronounced in the sentence but not when listening to the seperate word). Which is correct or if both are, which is more common?
Either is perfectly fine. The g-less version is probably more common, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Lägg märke till mig, Senpai! probably.
There's also the cognate notera, but it typically doesn't work well for humans.
- 664
Do you pronouncing the g or not?? Sometimes it is pronounced ligen and sometimes lien. Which is correct??
Both ways are in use and correct. It's mostly dialect, though things like speed of speech and prosody may affect which one you end up with as well.
No, äntligen means "finally" or "at last", while "eventually" is e.g. till slut.
