"De lever i arton år."

Translation: They live for eighteen years.

[Zzzzz...]

I thought 'eighteen' is aderton.

[Arnauti]

Aderton is an old form of this word, now only used in one context: De aderton means the 18 members of the Swedish Academy.

[tjolahoppsansaa]

Finlandssvenskor säger alltid "aderton".

[rami59]

Why is för not used here? Since when does i mean for? Tack

[Dylan600886]

At least it isn't på...

[Ethanxman]

Is there a difference between lever and bor?

[Arnauti]

Roughly, lever means is alive, bor means resides.

[Ethanxman]

Oh, ok. Thanks.

[photodiarist]

So would this be a reference to a species with an expected lifespan? Or should this somehow refer to humans?

[Anrui]

I would guess that it is about some sort of plant or animal.

[Olesja386275]

I understood as "they live in 80s".

[tjolahoppsansaa]

Arton och åttio är ganska långt ifrån varandra.

[alexbfree]

This is a weird sentence in english.

[LubomrVrna]

Present perfect should be used here.

[Anrui]

No, then it would be a completely different sentence.

[LubomrVrna]

OK, now I see the difference, thanks.

[CedSgm7N]

I've never seen the word "lever" used this way before so I'd like to clarify it's use. The above English translation is really awkward. In English we would say, "I've been alive for 18 years" or .... more commonly, "I'm 18 years old." The only appropriate way to use the phrase "They live for 18 years" would be if one is talking about a particular lifespan such as that of an animal (e.g. dogs usually live for 16 years) or a specific type of person (someone with brain cancer may only live for another 3 years).

[Anrui]

I think you have misunderstood the meaning of the sentence. The Swedish sentence means exactly what you say the English sentence means. It could be about a plant or an animal. The Swedish sentence certainly does not mean that someone has been alive for 18 years or that someone is 18 years old.