"I was born in the summer."

Translation:Jag är född på sommaren.

January 18, 2015

20 Comments
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https://www.duolingo.com/profile/davidofschlosser

Why is "i sommaren" not a correct answer?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Lundgren8

You can rarely directly translate prepositions from English when they’re used abstractly. Swedish just uses på sommaren for ’in the summer’. Instead you say i sommar to mean ’this summer’.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/jxxmxxj

Does the same hold for other time references? Like, "Jag är född på fredag" for "I was born on a Friday" vs. "i fredag" for "this (coming) Friday"?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Lundgren8

No, it’s different for weekdays.

  • På fredag = This closest Friday.
  • I fredags = Last Friday
  • På fredagar = On Fridays
  • Nästa Fredag = On Friday next week.

https://www.duolingo.com/profile/KhzDonut

In another example it said "i Juni" for "I was born in June"

If it were "in summer" rather than "in THE summer" would it still be "på"?

Or would it not make sense in Swedish to say "in summer" rather than "in THE summer"?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Lundgren8

No, we usually talk about seasons with a definite article.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/MichelleLinguist

Why is "är" used instead of "var"?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Arnauti

We say är född if we're still alive, and var född about people who aren't alive anymore. Carl von Linné var född 1707 but Min lillebror är född 1997. 'My little brother was born 1997'


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/NatalieBoa3

Why do you have to say "är född"? With most verbs I notice that you don't use är. Is född a verb?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Anjali701344

Would "Jag föddes på sommaren" be correct for this?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/nikkofir

So, I was born in January = jag är född i januari, but I was born in the winter = jag är född på vintern?

Any good rules for 'i' and 'på'? I struggle with: På pubben - to the pub På bussen - on the bus På vintern - in the winter På tal om - speaking of


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Arnauti

It's too big a question to cover extensively, but just a few short hints.
days with – på måndag – 'on Monday' (also på natten, på dagen)
months with i – i november – 'in November'
seasons with på sommaren – 'in summer'
years with no preposition född 1980 – 'born in 1980'
decades with på nittiotalet – 'in the 90s'
centuries also with – *på nittonhundratalet – 'in the 1900s' or 'in the 20th century'

For places, the general idea is much the same as in English: is like 'on' – 'on top of' and i is like 'in' – inside. The problem of course is that for abstract meanings when we aren't really 'on top of' or 'inside' something, the languages often make different choices.

So it's not unexpected that we say i skogen 'in the forest (a situation where we're clearly 'inside' something) and på golvet 'on the floor' (clearly 'on top of') but other cases aren't that clear.
Many institutions/activities use , e.g: på jobbet 'at work', på bio 'at the movies'. But there are lots of exceptions, too.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/pantastic

föda (föder/födde) is a verb, but from what I know its mostly used as the verb for giving birth, so literally translated in this sentence is 'I am birthed in summer).

Föddes (passive form) is used to state youre born somewhere so I believe 'Jag föddes på sommaren' could also be correct.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/jxxmxxj

The TTS on this phrase gives a really clear hard "g" on "jag", and I think this is the first time I've really heard it from the TTS. Is there a rule as to when the "g" is pronounced this way?

And, if the sentence were spoken in English with that emphasis, it'd be implying that the "I" is in contrast to someone else. Similar in Swedish?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Lundgren8

Normally not, unless it’s emphasised as you say.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Pinchuflame

If i say för what does it mean?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/rusty401767

I thought är would be I "am" born

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