Foreign Service Institute Swedish Basic Course
Unit 2: Meeting People
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Basic Sentences
| An American, George Brown, arrives at Arlanda (Stockholm's international airport) and is met by Bo and Maja Dalgren | |
| welcome | välkom/men |
| Sweden | Sverige |
| Bo: Hello George, and welcome to Sweden. | Hej George, och välkommen till Sverige. [1] |
| how, so | så |
| kind, nice, friendly | vänlig -t -a |
| of | av |
| to come | att komma, kommer, kom, kommit |
| to meet | att möt/a -er -te -t |
| George: Hello Bo. So kind of you to come and meet me. | Goddag Bo. Så vänligt av dig att komma och möta mig. |
| to introduce | att presenter/a -ar -ade -at |
| my | min, mitt, mina |
| friend | vän -nen -ner |
| wife | hustru -n -r |
| Bo: May I introduce you—my friend George Brown—my wife Maja. | Får jag presentera: min vän George Brown, min hustru Maja. [2] |
| pardon | förlåt |
| to be | att vara, är, var, varit |
| name | namn -et -ø |
| George: Pardon (me), what was the (your) name? | Förlåt, hur var namnet? |
| to be named | att heta, heter, hette, hetet |
| (my) name is | heter |
| trip | res/a -an -or |
| Maja: Hi, my name is Maja. How was the (your) trip? | Hej, jag heter Maja. Hur var resan? |
| direct | direkt -ø -a |
| flight, plane | flyg -et -ø |
| from | från |
| George: Very good. It was a direct flight from New York to Stockholm. | Mycket bra. Det var ett direkt flyg från New York till Stockholm. |
| your | din, ditt, dina |
| still, remaining | kvar |
| America | Amerika |
| Maja: Is your wife still in America? | Är din fru kvar i Amerika? |
| but | men |
| she | hon |
| in, within | om |
| month | månad -en -er |
| George: Yes, but she's coming in a couple of months. | Ja, men hon kommer om ett par månader. [3] |
| our | vår |
| girl | flick/a -an -or |
| shall, should; will, would | ska(ll), skulle |
| to finish, to end | att slut/a -ar -ade -at |
| school | skol/a -an -or |
| June | juni |
| George: Our girl will finish school in June. | Vår flicka ska sluta skolan i juni. |
| oh | jaså |
| such (a) | en (ett) sådan(t), sådana |
| big (grown-up) | stor -t -a |
| daughter | dotter -n, döttrar |
| Maja: Oh, do you have such a grown-up daughter? | Jaså, har ni en sådan stor dotter? |
| certainly, of course | javisst |
| to fill | att fyll/a -er -de -t |
| year | år -et -ø |
| to become older in years | att fyll/a år; -er -de -t |
| will be (years old) | fyller år |
| fall, autumn | höst -en -ar |
| this fall | i höst |
| George: Certainly, she will be seventeen this fall. | Javisst, hon fyller sjutton år i höst. [4] |
| here | hit |
| boat | båt -en -ar |
| George: They are coming (here) by boat. | De kommer hit med båt. [5] |
| nice, pleasant | trevlig -t -a |
| to like, to enjoy | att tyck/a om; -er -te -t |
| like(s) | tycker om |
| to travel | att res/a -er -te -t |
| Maja: How nice! I like to travel by boat too. | Så trevligt! Jag tycker också om att resa med båt. |
| if | om |
| weather | väder, vädret, -ø |
| Bo: If the weather is good. | Om vädret är bra. |
| to agree | att hålla med om; håller, höll, hållit |
| agree(s) | håller med om |
| to take | att ta, tar, tog, tagit |
| take(s) | tar |
| time | tid -en -er |
| George: I agree (with that). But it takes time. | Det håller jag med om. Men det tar tid. [6] |
| when | när |
| to expect, to wait | att vänt/a -ar -ade -at |
| expect(s), wait(s) | väntar |
| Bo: When do you expect Bill? | När väntar du Bill? |
| who | vem |
| Maja: Who is that? | Vem är det? |
| brother | bror, brodern, bröder |
| to know | att kän/na -ner -de -t |
| know(s) | känner |
| him | honom |
| It's George's brother. I know him from Washington. | Det är Georges bror. Jag känner honom från Washington. |
| he | han |
| other | annan, annat, andra |
| time, occasion | gång -en -er |
| to stay, to remain | att stann/a -ar -ade -at |
| longer | längre |
| George: He's coming another time when he can stay longer. | Han kommer en annan gå när han kan stanna längre. [7] |
| long | länge |
| city, town | stad -en, städer |
| this; these | den här, det här; de här |
| Maja: How long are you staying in town this time? | Hur länge stannar du i stad den här gången? |
| unfortunately | tyvärr |
| day | dag -en -ar |
| George: Unfortunately, only five days. | Tyvärr bara fem dagar. |
| pity | synd |
| that (conj.) | att |
| to leave; to go, to travel | att fara, far, for, farit |
| leave(s) | far |
| soon | snart |
| Maja: What a pity that you are leaving so soon. | Så synd att du far så snart. |
| back | tillbaka |
| George: I'll be back in June. | Jag kommer tillbaka i juni. [8] |
| to order, to reserve | att beställ/a -er -de -t |
| order(s) | beställer |
| for | åt |
| Bo: Now I'll go and get (order) a room for you. I'll be back soon. | Nu går jag och beställer ett rum åt dig. Jag är snart tillbaka. [9] |
| to wait | att vänt/a -ar -ade -at |
| wait(s) | väntar |
| here | här |
| suitcase | väsk/a -an -or |
| George: Thank you. I'll wait here with the (my) suitcase. | Tack ska du ha. Jag väntar här med väskan. [10] |
| to get, to obtain | att skaff/a -ar -ade -at |
| get(s), obtain(s) | skaffar |
| taxi | taxi -n -ø |
| that, which, who | som |
| to look like, to seem | att se ut; ser, såg, sett |
| look(s) like, seem(s) | ser ut |
| free, available | ledig -t -a |
| Maja: I'll get a taxi. There is one that seems to be free. | Jag skaffar en taxi. Där är en som ser ut att vara ledig. |
| (Bo Returns) | (Bo kommer tillbaka) |
| we | vi |
| to follow | att följ/a -er -de -t |
| with, along | med |
| to go (come) along | att följ/a med; -er -de -t |
| go(es), come(s) along | följer med |
| there | dit |
| car, taxi | bil -en -ar |
| Bo: You have a nice room at the Stora Hotellet. We'll go along in the taxi. | Du har ett bra rum på Stora Hotellet. Vi följer med dit i bilen. [11] |
| to hope | att hopp/as -as -ades -ats |
| hope(s) | hoppas |
| will, to be going to | att komma att; kommer, kom, kommit |
| is going to | kommer att |
| to be happy, comfortable | att triv/as -s -des -ts |
| Maja: I hope you'll be comfortable at the hotel. | Jag hoppas att du kommer att trivas på hotellet. [12][13] |
| to do, to make | att göra, gör, gjorde, gjort |
| do, does | gör |
| certainly, surely | säkert |
| George: I'm sure I will. (I'll certainly do that.) | Ja, det gör jag säkert. [14] |
| (At the hotel) | (På hotellet) |
| to like, to feel like | att ha lust att; har, hade, haft |
| like | har lust att |
| us | oss |
| evening | kväll -en -ar |
| this evening | ikväll |
| Maja: Would you like to come (to us) for dinner tonight? | Har du lust att komma till oss på middag ikväll? [15] |
| gladly, with pleasure | gärna |
| at what time | hur dags |
| George: With pleasure. How nice. At what time? | Tack gärna. Så trevligt. Hur dags? |
| clock | klock/a -an -or |
| to suit, to be convenient | att pass/a -ar -ade -at |
| suit(s) | passar |
| Maja: Seven o'clock, if that is convenient (for you). | Klockan sju, om det passar. |
| George: That suits (me) fine. What time is it now? | Det passar (mig) bra. Vad är klockan nu? |
| Bo: It's three o'clock. | Klockan är tre. |
| to live, to reside | att bo -r -dde -tt |
| live(s) | bor |
| George: Are you still living at Oxenstiernsgatan? | Bor ni kvar på Oxenstiernsgatan? |
| address | adress -en -er |
| to get, to pick up | att hämt/a -ar -ade -at |
| get(s), pick(s) up | hämtar |
| Bo: Yes, the address is Oxenstiernsgatan 3. But I'll pick you up. | Ja, adressen är Oxenstiernsgatan 3. Men jag hämtar dig. |
| then | då |
| Maja: So long, see you tonight. | Hej då, och välkommen ikväll. |
Notes on Basic Sentences
[1] Välkommen (plur. välkomna) is used very often in Sweden. You use it, as here, when you greet a person on arrival (in your country, in your city, or in your home, etc.). You also use it (as in paragraph 37 of this Unit) in connection with an invitation or referring to an upcoming visit.
Note that välkommen is never used in the English sense of "you are welcome." This phrase has to be expressed in different ways, for example: ingen orsak (no reason, don't mention it), tack själv (thanks yourself).
[2] Possessive pronouns:
Min, din, vår, er – used with en words.
Mitt, ditt, vårt, ert – used with ett words.
Mina, dina, våra, era – used with plural nouns.
(My, your, our, your)
More on the possessive adjectives and pronouns later.
[3] Om ett par månader (In a couple of months). The preposition om is used in expressions of time for the future in answer to the question när (when).
[4] Fyller. In Swedish the present tense is often used to indicate future.
[5] Här – here: indicates location at a place.
Hit – here: indicates motion to a place.
Examples:
Han är här – He is here.
Han kommer hit – He is coming here.
There are several other Swedish adverbs which change forms according to location or motion. We'll discuss them more in detail later.
[6] Det håller jag med om. Note that the verb comes before the subject. This word order is very common in Swedish. The verb always comes before the subject in a main clause when the clause starts with a direct or indirect object, an adverb, or if it is preceded by a subordinate clause. We'll practice this word order in Unit 5.
[7] Stanna. Note that stanna usually means "stay" in the sense of "remain."
Examples:
Vi ska stanna i tre veckor. (We'll stay for three weeks) but
Vi ska bo på Grand Hotel. (We'll stay at the Grand Hotel).
[9] Nu går jag och beställer ... See Note 6.
[10] Tack ska ni/du ha – one of many idiomatic expressions of thanks in Swedish.
[11] Där – there: indicates location at a place.
Dit - there: indicates motion to a place.
Examples:
Han bor där. – He lives there.
Han reser dit ikväll. – He's going there tonight.
See Note 5.
[12] Hoppas (to hope). Verbs ending in -s in the infinitive don't take the -r ending in the present tense. The -s ending is used in all tenses and all persons.
Infinitive: att hoppas, att trivas
Present tense: hoppas, trivs
[13] Du kommer att trivas. In Unit 1 you learned that future time is expressed with the auxiliary verb ska. However, kommer att + the infinitive form of the main verb is a very common way of expressing future time. There is a subtle difference between the two future expressions and they may at times be interchangeable, but in certain contexts only one of them is correct. Ska implies intention and the involvement of someone's will. Kommer att is strictly a prognosis without any intention or will involved.
Examples:
Jag ska resa till Amerika i höst. – I'm going to America in the fall.
Du kommer att tycka om min vän. – You'll like my friend.
[14] Det gör jag säkert. See Note 6.
[15] Att ha lust att must be followed by an infinitive.
Examples:
Har du lust att komma?
Jag har lust att resa till Uppsala. – I feel like going to Uppsala.
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