"Hon vill bli advokat."

Translation: She wants to become a lawyer.

[GlennaJo]

Why is an en (or ett?) not needed before advokat?

[Chris-Butler]

Is this not the same as "Hon vill vara advokat"?

[Lundgren8]

No, bli means ’become’. You could see it as a future form of ’be’. She wants to be one, but she wants to be one in the future, so you use bli.

[Chris-Butler]

Cheers, I guess the majority of the time they essentially mean the same (as in English), but in some situations they need to be distinguished.

[Arnauti]

Definitely. Swedish vara is much pickier about changes of state than English be. Whenever a change of state is taking place, you really need to use bli in Swedish, whereas in many cases either way works in English.

[Acarlosbunnell]

I believe English is much more free with futures and intentions since there is no strictly future tense in English. I was marked wrong for 'She wants to be a lawyer" which has an acceptable present or future sense.

[sandeepa2]

Tack

[DuncanHill0]

In Britain lawyers are either solicitors or barristers - does Sweden have a similar distinction?

[kelryngrey]

Is an attorney differentiated from a lawyer in Swedish?

[Zmrzlina]

Attorney = juridiskt ombud

Lawyer = advokat

[MarieReid2]

How would you say "she wants to get a lawyer"?