HSC Swedish Continuers flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

V2 rule

In Swedish main clauses the finite verb always occupies second position. If an adverbial starts the sentence, the subject moves after the verb: Igår åkte vi till Malmö.

Subordinate clause negation

In a subordinate clause introduced by att, eftersom, när or om, the word inte comes before the finite verb: ...att jag inte kan komma.

Informal email closing

An informal Swedish message typically ends with Hälsningar or Kram followed by the writer's name. A formal letter uses Med vänliga hälsningar instead.

Formal letter opening

A formal Swedish letter opens with Bästa plus the recipient's name and a comma, followed by a new line. Informal messages use Hej instead.

Preterite vs pluperfect

Preterite (jag gick) narrates completed past events in sequence. Pluperfect (jag hade gått) marks an event completed before another past event.

Adjective agreement en/ett

With en-words the adjective takes no ending (en stor bil). With ett-words it adds -t (ett stort hus). Plural forms add -a (stora bilar, stora hus).

Double definiteness

Definite noun phrases in Swedish mark definiteness twice: the adjective takes -a and the noun takes a suffix. Den stora bilen, det stora huset.

Modal particle ju

The particle ju signals shared or obvious knowledge, roughly 'as you know' or 'after all'. It softens a claim and often appears mid-sentence.

Modal particle väl

Väl invites agreement or expresses mild assumption, similar to 'presumably' or 'right?'. It appears in statements and tag-like questions.

Connector eftersom

Eftersom introduces a subordinate clause of cause and triggers subordinate word order, so inte precedes the finite verb. It means 'because'.

Connector trots att

Trots att means 'although' and introduces a concessive subordinate clause. Like other subordinators it places inte before the finite verb.

Connector därför att

Därför att means 'because' and introduces a subordinate clause of reason. It differs from eftersom mainly in emphasis and frequency.

Listening correction markers

Speakers often revise facts aloud using nej, förlåt, eller rättare sagt, or inte X utan Y. The corrected value, not the first number, is the answer.

Swedish question words

Core interrogatives: vad (what), vem (who), var (where), när (when), hur (how), varför (why), vilken/vilket/vilka (which). They predict the answer type.

Pitch accent contrast

Swedish has two pitch accents that distinguish words. Anden with accent 1 means 'the duck'; anden with accent 2 means 'the spirit'. Context resolves them.

Contracted negation in speech

Spoken Swedish reduces inte to int or inget and uses aldrig and knappast. Missing a negation reverses the meaning of a listening answer.

Listening distractor numbers

Times, prices and ages are often stated, corrected, then restated. Track the final version and note whether the question asks for a specific figure.

Genre and purpose scanning

Before answering reading questions, identify the text type and its purpose: informera, övertala, underhålla or klaga. Purpose shapes which details matter.

Definite suffix en-words

En-words form the definite singular with -en (bilen, staden). Ett-words use -et (huset). Plural definite forms end in -arna, -en or -na.

Pronoun reference tracking

Den, det, detta and dessa usually point back to the nearest matching noun or to a whole preceding clause. Identify the antecedent before answering.

Idiom det spelar ingen roll

This idiom means 'it doesn't matter' or 'it makes no difference'. It appears in reading texts about choices and preferences.

Idiom ha koll på

Ha koll på means 'to keep track of' or 'to know about'. It is common in informal articles and interviews about everyday organisation.

Verb group -ar

The largest Swedish verb group takes -ar in the present, -ade in the preterite and -at in the supine: tala, talar, talade, talat.

Verb group -er

Verbs like läsa follow -er in the present, -te in the preterite and -t in the supine: läsa, läser, läste, läst.

Strong verbs

Strong verbs change the stem vowel across forms instead of adding a dental suffix: skriva, skriver, skrev, skrivit. They must be learned individually.

Cohesion markers in writing

Sequence and contrast markers such as först, sedan, därefter, dessutom, dock and sammanfattningsvis link paragraphs and make the argument easy to follow.

Register du versus ni

Modern Swedish addresses one person with du, even formally. Ni addresses a group or, historically, a single person of higher status; consistency matters.

Inversion after fronted adverbial

When an adverbial such as Sedan or I somras opens a main clause, the subject follows the verb: Sedan kom tåget, I somras reste jag.

Main idea versus detail

Items asking vad handlar texten om target the main idea; items naming a person, time or place target a specific detail recoverable by scanning.

Listening answer language

The language of the question determines the language of the answer. Swedish question stems require Swedish responses; English stems require English responses.

Idiom dra nytta av

Dra nytta av means 'to take advantage of' or 'to benefit from'. It often appears in advice texts about courses, offers and opportunities.

Idiom stå ut med

Stå ut med means 'to put up with' or 'to tolerate'. It signals a complaint or concession in reading and listening texts.