32 Comments
I literally can not hear the "ar" in this. Is it common to not pronounce it if it would be grammatically incorrect without it?
Since ”det” is pronounced ”de” and ”är” is pronounced ”e” the phrase ”de e” often just blends together into a ”dee” (slightly longer e). As a native speaker I can clearly hear it, but I can imagine it takes some time to get used to, but I assure it is there.
That's probably because är is pronounced as a long E or long Ä, the R is silent unless maybe if you really emphasize the word. Together with det /de:/ this makes the construction "det är" often just sound /de:/.
You'll hear it because the TTS is a robot that doesn't know that it's silent. But in spoken Swedish, you'll find it silent, yes.
Why is 'det är kvinnans tidning' 'that is the woman's newspaper' and not 'this is the woman's newspaper'?
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This in English can be det här/den här or denna/detta in Swedish. In this sentence, we would have said Det här/Detta är kvinnans tidning if we'd wanted to say 'This is the woman's newspaper.
I thought det är was used to introduce a new idea or thing and means "it is"?
Does it also mean "that is" as CommieGnome is saying!?
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Yes to both. If you put a little extra stress on det in det är, it will mean 'that is', so that's also an accepted answer. But it is is the best translation.
Oh I thought that for "it" you were supposed to say det for neuter nouns and den for common ones, but I guess I was wrong, right? Cause tidning is common
You’re right. But in this case det does not refer to the newspaper. It’s just a formal subject or a dummy pronoun that is used for presenting the newspaper. It’s much like it in it is raining in English, it does not refer to anything special and it does not represent the noun rain.
Ok so if I was having an argument with someone over whose newspaper it is we could say "den är minn!" or would it also be "det er minn"?
A few more examples to understand better:
(the newspaper)
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"It is here" = "den är här" or "det är här"
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"It is small" = "den är liten" or "det är liten"?
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"I have it" = "Jag har den" or "det"?
What I'm trying to understand is whether the "dummy-pronoun-ness" is only when identifying, or only that and qualifying but not in locating, or in all subject sentences but not when accusative. Thank you for your time and help :)
No, in all of those cases you would use den since you’re referring directly to the newspaper. It’s just in these sentences like ”det är” or ”det finns” or similar where you use det, also sometimes when speaking generally. Read more about that here.
You could also say den är min tidning but that’s only if you’re like pointing at it and then it rather means that one is my newspaper.
So does Swedish not have a predicate nominative? Or does it just not change the declension of the subject?
It said the definition of den was the so i put that in but i was wrong
Den only means "the" in specific circumstances. The hints shown when peeking on a words shows all translations regardless of context. After all, they're hints.
So just like English, "woman" needs to have "a/the" when it's possessive, right? Would "Det är kvinnas tidning" sound weird, like it would in English?
The answer is "the lady's newspaper" and not " the woman's newspaper" as i wrote. Is there a difference ?
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The main answer is the one you can see on top of this page - It is the woman's newspaper. But if your answer isn't accepted, any accepted answer can be shown to you and the machine doesn't always make the best choice. – Some English speakers use 'lady' and 'woman' interchangeably, while others reserve the word 'lady' for women of higher social rank or more elegant women (like gentleman vs man). Also, 'lady' is used in some combinations, like 'cleaning lady' or 'ladies' room'.
how would I say that it's a womans newspaper, I mean a newspaper with womansstuff. "Det är en kvinnans tidning"? or could the sentence from duo possibly mean both?
We'd use Det är en damtidning for that, with dam meaning "lady". This sentence just means there's a woman owning a copy of some newspaper.
where was the possessive endings introduced in the 'tips and tricks' section of this program? I only saw possessive pronouns introduced (singular and plural indefinite/definite forms) not possessive endings?
I am trying to learn the general patterns for construction and can't find any tips on it! Thanks!
Actually, "newspaper" is the default translation. But I see you have submitted a report for "It is the woman's newspapers" which is wrong because that's in the plural.
shouldn't it be "den" instead of "det" as tidning is an utrum noun, not neutrum. – eN tidning, DeN är kvinnas tidning.
