19 Comments
Can you say 'Minnet' for the USB flash drive, for example? Or computer related equipment?
893
Yes. Commonly, USB-minnet. Or like Jag måste köpa mer minne till datorn 'I need to buy more memory for my computer'.
- 11
Wait a second... in that last sentence you said, could you also say, "Jag måste köpa mer minne till min dator"? Why do you use the definite form for computer?
- 893
That's how we roll… Here's a link to a discussion about it: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/6014446
It was my impression that "att tappa" could only be used for physical objects (i believe the explanation was "things you could drop" and that "att förlora" was for more abstract things. Obviously I'm wrong, but then I'm not sure i understand the distinction.
- 893
tappa is also used for abilities such as minnet and talförmågan ('the ability to speech'). förlorar isn't wrong either but slightly higher style.
If you tappar pengar, it only means that you drop it, if you förlorar pengar it means that you lose it, either in a game or like an unsuccessful venture.
- 330
How would you say, "Have you lost your mind?" (Meaning have you gone crazy?)
If trying to keep it similar to this sentence: "Har du tappat förståndet?"
- 893
That's right. Both verbs work in this case. – I'd always say förlorat förståndet though.
I was under the impression that "har du tappat minne?" itself was the accepted way to express that you think that someone has lost their mind (or that they have gone crazy)?
Pretty sure I have heard it being used in that way, in any case.
With the definite form here, would this be referring to a specific memory or could it mean one's memory in general? Is there a difference in saying, or is it possible to say, "Har du tappat din minne?"
- 893
We generally prefer to speak about our own body parts (and similar things) as determinate rather than with possessive pronouns. In this case, there is the added complication that tappa minnet is like a set combination. So while it isn't really grammatically wrong to say Har du tappat ditt minne?, it sounds really really awkward. It also makes it sound like you're speaking about 1 specific memory, whereas the normal meaning of tappa minnet is 'lose one's memory' as in losing the ability to remember things. Therefore it's more OK to say tappat ditt minne about an usb stick than about what's in your head.
- Thread about determinate rather than possessive pronoun: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/6014446
- Thread about speaking about body parts: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/6094128
- Thread about nouns without an article: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/5824774
So we are to assume that the memory lost is that of the person being addressed? It wouldn't make sense to be talking about someone elses anyway,
- 893
Yes, in Swedish we feel it's so obvious from context that it sounds wrong to point out whose memory we're talking about here.
In that case does one use the same construction to talk about a specific memory that's lost? And the listener would infer from context that the target of the sentence hadn't altogether lost their memory, just a single one?
- 893
I might use förlorat in a context like that. Most likely I'd just express it differently altogether. But I'd hardly say tappat about one specific memory.
It means "your memory" in both Swedish and English. Things closely associated with or connected to the subject are often given in definite form.
Har du tappat plånboken? (Have you lost your wallet?) It's understood to mean "your wallet" and not merely "the wallet" which could belong to anyone.
