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- "Det är många turister här."
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What is the significance of using "det är" as opposed to "det finns" in this instance?
That is a very good question! Since the day before yesterday I know that "there is" = "det är" when you are talking about something temporary and that "there is" = "det finns" when you are talking about something permanent.
Examples:
Det är en fluga i soppan - there is a fly in my soup
Det finns ett hus i New Orleans - there is a house i New Orleans
Since you don't know about the context in the sentence above, I think that "det finns" should be accepted as well. Did you try it?
That it might be a good rule and it makes sense to me, but I heard many time "det finns" referred to temporary situations too. An example: det finns kaffe. It is maybe a more colloquial way of saying?
No, it's the only way actually, since "det är kaffe" simply means "it's coffee". To be able to use the "det är" expression, you have to specify where there is something. And if there is coffee, it's not that temporary I guess :). Compare these two sentences:
Det är kaffe på bordet. (meaning that someone spilt coffee on the table)
Det finns kaffe på bordet. (meaning something like "I have bought coffee and put it on the table")
Thank you!!!!
My theory in progress that “det finns” corresponds approximately and cognately (if non idiomatically) to “there is found” seems to hold up here, in that you’d say “there is found coffee on the table” only really to mean a cup of it, not a spill. Unless it was an art installation or something.
What would be "the thing" to see in Sweden, the place where there'd be many tourists, like the Great Wall of China or the Empire State Building or the Eiffel Tower, etc.?
I suppose the Vasa museum in Stockholm is worth a visit. One of the world's best preserved 17th century warships. It managed to sail an impressive few hundred meters before sinking...
I know right?! :D I'm a native Stockholmer, and growing up in this city it's nigh-impossible to not go through a few school visits as a child. But I love it anyways!
I am going there soon and can't wait. I'll be able to try out my Swedish as well.
Är du en typisk nollåtta? :-) (Det är inte ett negativt ord hoppas jag...)
In some ways I suppose I am, in some ways not. It depends on what goes with the term. Non-Stockholmers often use it in a negative way about us being stuck up know-it-alls, but on the other hand we too use it sometimes in a positive sense. I'm a nollåtta in the sense that I'm Stockholm born and raised, and I really feel at home here. For all its beauty and flaws, I really like my home town. On the other hand, I'm mainly about the souther parts of Stockholm, from Slussen and southwards, not caring all too much for the northern parts.
For those who wonder, "nollåtta" comes from the fact that the county dial code is 08, meaning that you have to dial that before a number if calling from another country (and not calling a mobile phone).
If that's anything like the ice hotel in Rovaniemi, Finland, I'm not surprised!
How tourist-dense do various parts of Sweden get? My impression of places like Paris is that tourists nearly outnumber the locals, and I can't imagine Stockholm being like that.
why is it "det är" instead of "det finns"? I have come accross many examples in which "det är" is the correct alternative, but I am still doubtful about which one should be.
Why can't the English tranlation be "Here are many tourists"? I understand that in Swedish it might be necessary to say it in particular way, but what about English?
It’s correct grammatically but it just sounds “wrong”, non-idiomatic, it’s not how a native English speaker would express it. “Here is/are...[object]” is used sometimes but I think more as an announcement or an answer. And I think in the English case this means the object tends to be definite.
“Where are the tourists?” “Here are the tourists!”
Thats bogus , why would I say here when I already said there. There are many tourists
Nope, it’s valid English. “There” used here is like the Swedish formal subject “Det”.
Otherwise, where are the tourists? This statement answers that question, yours does not. They are “here”, they are not there, they are not everywhere, they are not off at the museum.
