Absolute beginner #7 - Swedish negations
Download PDFHej!
Jag heter inte Sven.
Jag är inte 20 år gammal.
Jag är inte norsk.
Markus:It says here that you're supposed to add 4 liters of water.
Anders:That can't be right. It has to be a typo. I guess it should be deciliter.
Markus:Yes, that sounds logical. Otherwise the cabbage rolls would bathe in water.
Anders:Where is the deciliter cup?
Markus:Over there by the cutting board.
Anders:You are suppose to mix everything with the ground beef and roll the paste into the leaves. Then fry them.
Markus:That's what I'm doing.
Anders:Yeah, I'm just reading out loud.
Markus:Oh ok.
Anders:When the rolls are done, put them on plates. Serve with cooked potatoes.
Markus:Did you put on the potatoes?
Anders:No.
Markus:Did you even peel them?
Anders:I guess I forgot.
In our seventh absolute beginner lesson, we are going to take what we have learned and flip everything upside down with the negation inte.
Negative statements
Inte is put, just like in English, after the verb in a sentence, however Swedish does not use the helper verb göra (to do) with a negation to construct negatated sentences. This makes Swedish sound a bit like bible English, however, it's the same for a multitude of languages, like German, French, Spanish, etc.Jag gillar inte fisk.I don't like fish.
Han är inte trött.He isn't tired.
Negative subclauses
In subclauses, a fancy term for sentences that begin with so-called subjunctions (another fancy term for words like because and that), Swedish make use of the so-called BIFF rule. It's an acronym for "I bisats kommer inte framför det finita verbet" and just means that the verb that is conjugated will have the negation inte placed in front of it.Eftersom jag inte gillar fisk.Because I don't like fish.
Eftersom han inte är trött.Because he's not tired.
The BIFF rule does not only apply to inte but is valid for sentence adverbs in general.
Negative questions
The negation inte turns a bit magical when it comes to questions and can be moved around a lot. Putting it in the first position, instead of the word, gives it the same feeling as putting surely in front of a statement in English: Inte gillar du fiskbullar?(Surely you don't like fish balls?)Having inte after the verb or after the subject gives the sentence roughly the same neutral feeling. What you need to know at this point is that you can construct negative questions in the same way as you construct your negative statements: by putting inte directly after the verb.
Är du trött?Are you tired?Är inte du trött?Aren't you tired?
Recap conversation
Hej, vad heter du?Hello, what's your name?Jag heter Joakim.My name is Joakim.Trevligt att träffas.Nice to meet you., How do you do.Var kommer du ifrån?Where do you come from?Jag kommer från Sverige.I come from Sweden.Hur gammal är du?How old are you?Jag är 33 år gammal.I'm 33 years old.Är du student?Are you a student?Nej, jag är inte student.No, I'm not a student.Jag gillar inte dig. · New
I don't like you.
Maten är inte klar. · New
The food is not ready.
Eftersom han inte är här. · New
Because he's not here.
Jag är inte svensk. · New
I'm not Swedish.
Är inte du hungrig? · New
Aren't you hungry?
Hon är inte glad. · New
She's not happy.
Eftersom du inte kör. · New
Because you're not driving.
Äter inte amöbor? · New
Don't amoebae eat?
Du får inte. · New
You may not.
Kan du inte hjälpa mig? · New
Can't you help me?
Han gillar inte köttbullar. · New
He doesn't like meatballs.
Det är inte bra. · New
That's not good.
Jag dricker inte. · New
I don't drink.
Eftersom människor inte kvittrar. · New
Because humans don't tweet.
Varför kommer du inte? · New
Why aren't you coming?
Jag kan inte se. · New
I can't see.
Hon gillar inte killar. · New
She doesn't like boys.
Fungerar den inte? · New
Isn't it working?
Hunden vill inte. · New
The dog doesn't want to.
Gå inte! · New
Don't go!
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