Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Morten: Welcome to SwedishPod101.com, Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 17 - Making Swedish Small Talk Over Coffee. Hej och välkomna. This is Morten.
Jasmine: Hej, allihopa. I'm Jasmine.
Morten: In this lesson, we will be stopping on some small talk over a fika or a Swedish coffee break.
Jasmine: We're at a café in Haga, a very picturesque district of Gothenburg near the university.
Morten: James is there with Nils and it's mid afternoon.
Jasmine: They're just passing time so the conversation is very informal. Let's listen to the dialogue.

Lesson conversation

Nils: Hej James, hur står det till?
James: Bara bra, tack. Och själv då?
Nils: Under kontroll. Du, du måste prova det här kaffet med valnötsmak, jättegod!
James: Okej, det ska jag. Men jag är lite hungrig också.
Nils: Ta en av frallorna här. Dem kan jag rekommendera.
James: Visst är det skönt med lite svensk fika.
Nils: Absolut. Jag är här varje onsdag. Kom med lite oftare.
James: Gärna. Då kommer jag nästa vecka redan.
Morten: And now let's listen to the slow version.
Jasmine: Och nu ska vi lyssna på den sakta versionen.
Nils: Hej James, hur står det till?
James: Bara bra, tack. Och själv då?
Nils: Under kontroll. Du, du måste prova det här kaffet med valnötsmak, jättegod!
James: Okej, det ska jag. Men jag är lite hungrig också.
Nils: Ta en av frallorna här. Dem kan jag rekommendera.
James: Visst är det skönt med lite svensk fika.
Nils: Absolut. Jag är här varje onsdag. Kom med lite oftare.
James: Gärna. Då kommer jag nästa vecka redan.
Morten: And now with the English translation.
Jasmine: Och nu med den engelska översättningen.
Nils: Hej James, hur står det till?
Morten: Hi, James. How are you?
James: Bara bra, tack. Och själv då?
Morten: Just fine, thanks. And how about you?
Nils: Under kontroll. Du, du måste prova det här kaffet med valnötsmak, jättegod!
Morten: Fine. James, you have to try this walnut-flavored coffee—very tasty!
James: Okej, det ska jag. Men jag är lite hungrig också.
Morten: OK, will do. But I'm also a little hungry.
Nils: Ta en av frallorna här. Dem kan jag rekommendera.
Morten: Take one of these rolls here. I can recommend those.
James: Visst är det skönt med lite svensk fika.
Morten: Sure, a Swedish coffee break is a fine thing.
Nils: Absolut. Jag är här varje onsdag. Kom med lite oftare.
Morten: Absolutely. I'm here every Wednesday. Join me more often.
James: Gärna. Då kommer jag nästa vecka redan.
Morten: I'd be pleased to. Then I'll come as early as next week.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Morten: So our main characters are celebrating the Swedish coffee break.
Jasmine: Fika, yes. It came out briefly in lesson 12.
Morten: So what is so special about fika?
Jasmine: Well, it's a national institution. Everybody indulge in it, students, people at work.
Morten: Or people just hanging out in town I hear. And what else do our listeners need to know?
Jasmine: People usually have coffee and something sweet to eat, so called kaffebröd.
Morten: This literally means coffee bread and it is often baked with cinnamon, right?
Jasmine: Yeah. And that a fika at a café, you usually get påtår, that means one refill.
Morten: So it's a bit like America, but normally it's only one refill in Sweden, correct?
Jasmine: Yes, but that's not such a harsh restriction. Fika is a way of life for many Swedes.
Morten: To stop whatever hectic thing everything is doing and enjoy a nice moment of relaxation. I get it.
Jasmine: And it's not just work we need to have a break from. Our climate can be pretty harsh too.
Morten: All the more reason to enjoy a warm cup with friends.
Jasmine: To have a fika is as Swedish as an experience gets. So do join in.
VOCAB LIST
Morten: And now, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. First we have.
Jasmine: Prova [natural native speed]
Morten: To try.
Jasmine: Prova [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Prova [natural native speed]
Morten: Next, we have.
Jasmine: Smak [natural native speed]
Morten: Taste.
Jasmine: Smak [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Smak [natural native speed]
Morten: Next, we have.
Jasmine: God [natural native speed]
Morten: Tasty.
Jasmine: God [slowly - broken down by syllable]. God [natural native speed]
Morten: And next, we have.
Jasmine: Hungrig [natural native speed]
Morten: Hungry.
Jasmine: Hungrig [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Hungrig [natural native speed]
Morten: Next, we have.
Jasmine: Fralla [natural native speed]
Morten: Bread roll.
Jasmine: Fralla [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Fralla [natural native speed]
Morten: Next, we have.
Jasmine: Rekommendera [natural native speed]
Morten: To recommend.
Jasmine: Rekommendera [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Rekommendera [natural native speed]
Morten: Next, we have.
Jasmine: Skön [natural native speed]
Morten: Pleasant.
Jasmine: Skön [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Skön [natural native speed]
Morten: And finally, we have.
Jasmine: Ofta [natural native speed]
Morten: Often.
Jasmine: Ofta [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Ofta [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Morten: Let's now take a closer look at the words and phrases for this lesson. The first one is very casual, almost street.
Jasmine: Something you could say if someone was using Läget.
Morten: That was something along the line of all right, wasn't it?
Jasmine: That's right. So if someone says Läget and you respond with Under kontroll.
Morten: Well, English speakers can pretty well guess what that means. Jasmine Läget?
Jasmine: Under kontroll?
Morten: And how about you dear listeners Läget?
Jasmine: That's right, under kontroll.
Morten: Let's keep this positive energy going and get to our next word, god, that means tasty, right?
Jasmine: It does. In standard Swedish it refers exclusively to food or drinks.
Morten: So what do you call other things are god.
Jasmine: We use the word bra. We've covered that before and heard it several times.
Morten: So I ask you how the food of that Indian restaurant was last night, and you say?
Jasmine: God, tack.
Morten: Dear listeners, how was that food you just had?
Jasmine: God, that's it.
Morten: And there's another word that deserves our attention.
Jasmine: Yes, the word Skön. It is used to describe a pleasant atmosphere mostly.
Morten: But it could also mean beautiful, correct?
Jasmine: It could. But for people, there are other words to use.
Morten: Got it. Finally, we have a very useful little phrase.
Jasmine: If someone gives you advice and you intend to act on it…
Morten: …or just think it would be a good idea, you can say…
Jasmine: Det ska jag, I shall or will do.
Morten: However, the word do does not appear in the Swedish, does it?
Jasmine: Not in this phrase, but you could easily weave it in.
Morten: So I can tell you have a good day, Ha en trevlig dag, And you respond with?
Jasmine: Det ska jag.
Morten: And now dear listener, we say to you, Ha en trevlig dag.
Jasmine: Det ska jag.
Morten: Okay. Thanks for making it this far.
Jasmine: Excellent work, everybody.

Lesson focus

Morten: And now let's take a look at the grammar for this lesson. In the lesson focus, we are looking at imperative forms of verbs.
Jasmine: And for this, we need to remind ourselves with the different verb groups again.
Morten: Okay. We'll start with the irregular ones. So far we've looked at Vara to be, and Ha, to have.
Jasmine: In the present tense, those are är and har. But what are their imperative forms?
Morten: Well before we tackle that issue, let's briefly look at what an imperative form actually is.
Jasmine: Yes, that's a good point. Imperatives are commands. They're used a lot in families.
Morten: When you tell your loved ones, dinner is ready and call them to the table.
Jasmine: And of course at work places, imperatives come in handy, when you need to communicate over a distance.
Morten: Your boss will use them a lot and you yourself may tell the people you lead what to do using imperatives.
Jasmine: That's right. Now back to the imperatives vara and ha.
Morten: In English the imperative form is identical to the infinitive form without the word to in front. In Swedish though, it's a little more complex.
Jasmine: The imperative of Vara is var.
Morten: As in the Swedish for, here you are, Varsågod.
Jasmine: Yes. Please listen and repeat, Varsågod.
Morten: Good work. And the imperative for ha is identical to the infinitive.
Jasmine: So that's easy. But what about other verbs?
Morten: Well apart from the irregulars, we saw some verbs that make their present tense by adding R to the infinitive.
Jasmine: Yes, like Tala, rekommendera and bo.
Morten: These are also identical in the imperative with the infinitive, but let's hear an example.
Jasmine: Tala inte så fort
Morten: Don't speak so fast. Let's hear that once again and repeat it.
Jasmine: Tala inte så fort
Morten: Very good. And then Rekommendera.
Jasmine: Rekommendera ett bra ställe, tack, please recommend a good place.
Morten: Please listen and repeat once more, Rekommendera ett bra ställe, tack
Jasmine: Nice work, everybody.
Morten: Please do remember the tone accents of these verbs folks, Tala.
Jasmine: That is important.
Morten: And then there are those one syllable verbs that form their present tense by adding R to the infinitive. And what about to live, bo?
Jasmine: Bo inte för nära stationen
Morten: Don't live too close to the station. Please listen and repeat.
Jasmine: Bo inte för nära stationen
Morten: Good job everybody again.
Jasmine: And finally we have those verbs that make their present tense by dropping A from their infinitive.
Morten: And replacing it with ER.
Jasmine: To make one of those verbs imperative…
Morten: …all you do is drop the A.
Jasmine: Läsa, Heta and Komma.
Morten: So could you give us the imperatives for this?
Jasmine: Sure. Läs och kom.
Morten: Okay, but where is Heta?
Jasmine: Heta doesn't have an imperative. It wouldn't make sense to commend someone to be called something, would it?
Morten: Well I guess it wouldn't. And what about Komma and Kom.
Jasmine: Please notice that kommer drops not only the A, but also an M.
Morten: This happens for reasons we don't go into now, but they have to do with Swedish pronunciation.
Jasmine: For now, just remember to drop the M when you write the word as well.
Morten: And could we have some example sentences with imperative Läs and Kom.
Jasmine: Naturally, Läs den här boken
Morten: Read this book here. Once more please so our listeners can repeat it.
Jasmine: Läs den här boken
Morten: Excellent. And one more example please?
Jasmine: Kom hit, Thomas, Thomas, come here.
Morten: All right, you know the drill, listen and repeat once more.
Jasmine: Kom hit, Thomas
Morten: Very good, Mycket bra.
Jasmine: And this is all you need to know about the imperatives for now.
Morten: So please get plenty of practice. Like our podcasts?
Jasmine: Then like our Facebook page too.
Morten: Get lesson updates our Swedish word of the day and news on Facebook.
Jasmine: Just search for SwedishPod101.com and like our fan page.
Morten: And if you like a lesson or a series on SwedishPod101.com.
Jasmine: Let us know…
Morten: …by clicking the button next to the lesson or series. Good by for now. Hejdå.
Jasmine: Hejdå. Tack så mycket. Till nästa gång!
Morten: Yes, till next time.

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