Learn about recapping modals, traffic vocab and small talk
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Morten: Hej och välkomna, Morten here! And welcome to SwedishPod101.com, Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 25 - Review Part 3: Weighing Swedish Transportation Options. |
| Jasmine: Hej allihopa! This is Jasmine. |
| Morten: In this lesson, we are repeating some earlier vocab and especially modals. |
| Jasmine: We are at the flat at Ostkupan. |
| Morten: It’s early evening and James and Nils are planning a night out. |
| Jasmine: The tone is casual and they are chatting about how to get to town and back. |
| Morten: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| James: Okej Nils, hur tänker du åka in till stan ikväll? |
| Nils: Jag vet inte än. Först måste vi bestämma när vi ska åka. |
| James: Nejmen, var det inte kl 11 vi måste vara framme? |
| Nils: Jo, men kanske man skulle ta en bärs på ölhallen. |
| James: Okej, då kan vi ju ta 9.47 bussen. |
| Nils: Men hur gör vi senare, på vägen tillbaka? Ska vi inte ta cykeln? |
| James: Alltså min cykel är trasig... |
| Nils: Men om vi tar en taxi tillbaka, kostar det jättemycket. |
| Morten: And now, the slow version. |
| Jasmine: Och nu den sakta versionen. |
| James: Okej Nils, hur tänker du åka in till stan ikväll? |
| Nils: Jag vet inte än. Först måste vi bestämma när vi ska åka. |
| James: Nejmen, var det inte kl 11 vi måste vara framme? |
| Nils: Jo, men kanske man skulle ta en bärs på ölhallen. |
| James: Okej, då kan vi ju ta 9.47 bussen. |
| Nils: Men hur gör vi senare, på vägen tillbaka? Ska vi inte ta cykeln? |
| James: Alltså min cykel är trasig... |
| Nils: Men om vi tar en taxi tillbaka, kostar det jättemycket. |
| Morten: And now with the English translation. |
| Jasmine: Och nu med den engelska översättningen. |
| Nils: Okej Nils, hur tänker du åka in till stan ikväll? |
| Morten: Okay, Nils, how do you plan to get into town tonight? |
| Nils: Jag vet inte än. Först måste vi bestämma när vi ska åka. |
| Morten: I don't know yet. First we have to decide when we will go. |
| James: Nejmen, var det inte kl 11 vi måste vara framme? |
| Morten: No but, wasn't it at 11 we should be there? |
| Nils: Jo, men kanske man skulle ta en bärs på ölhallen. |
| Morten: Sure, but perhaps we should have a bevvy at the Ölhalle before. |
| James: Okej, då kan vi ju ta 9.47 bussen. |
| Morten: Okay, then we could take the 9.47 bus. |
| Nils: Men hur gör vi senare, på vägen tillbaka? Ska vi inte ta cykeln? |
| Morten: But how shall we do it later, on the way back? Why don't we go by bike? |
| James: Alltså min cykel är trasig... |
| Morten: My bike is broken... |
| Nils: Men om vi tar en taxi tillbaka, kostar det jättemycket. |
| Morten: But if we take a taxi back, it costs very much. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Morten: It sounds like James and Nils have quite a night ahead of them, as soon as they can resolve their transportation issues. |
| Jasmine: Yes. In Sweden, people do enjoy their Friday and Saturday nights. |
| Morten: Okay. So weekends are big. And we’ve also gone over a few festivals. I hear this one which can really turn into quite a big party. |
| Jasmine: You mean Valborgsmässoafton and the first of May? |
| Morten: Well, no mistaking when the latter takes place, but yes that sounds about right. |
| Jasmine: Let’s translate it first. In English, it can be called Walpurgis Night and it’s always the 30th of April. |
| Morten: The night before the 1st of May. And what do people do in that day? Who celebrates what? |
| Jasmine: This is not so easily answered. There are heaps of overlapping traditions – from pagans, Christians, and modern times. |
| Morten: I was told students do a lot of celebrating, especially in Lund and Uppsala. |
| Jasmine: Oh, yes. Students spend the day out picnicking, singing, and sometimes racing. |
| Morten: Racing? |
| Jasmine: Yes. In Uppsala, they’re racing home-made boats in the river Fyrisån. |
| Morten: And I suppose people eat and drink. |
| Jasmine: Yes, they drink a lot. But there are also bonfires on that night. |
| Morten: Officially, the first of May is a bank holiday in Sweden, isn’t it? |
| Jasmine: Yes, a bank holiday which many marches and political demonstrations by unions and leftists parties. |
| Morten: But people also have their own traditions of celebrating the night before – dancing on bonfires and maypoles, don’t they? |
| Jasmine: They do indeed. All in all, it’s a day to be enjoyed. And the student’s antique should be witness. It’s a once in a lifetime thing. |
| Morten: Thanks a lot for those insights. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. First we have… |
| Jasmine: Tänka [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: To think. |
| Jasmine: Tänka [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Tänka [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Next we have… |
| Jasmine: När [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: When. |
| Jasmine: När [slowly - broken down by syllable]. När [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: And next… |
| Jasmine: Framme [natural native speed]. |
| Morten : “In front” or “to have arrived.” |
| Jasmine: Framme [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Framme [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Next we have… |
| Jasmine: Tillbaka [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Back (again). |
| Jasmine: Tillbaka [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Tillbaka [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Next we have.. |
| Jasmine: Inte [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Not. |
| Jasmine: Inte [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Inte [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Next we have… |
| Jasmine: Cykel [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Bicycle. |
| Jasmine: Cykel [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Cykel [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Next… |
| Jasmine: Trasig [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Broken. |
| Jasmine: Trasig [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Trasig [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Next we have… |
| Jasmine: Kosta [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: To cost. |
| Jasmine: Kosta [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Kosta [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Next we have… |
| Jasmine: Ska [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Shall, will, or have to. |
| Jasmine: Ska [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Ska [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: And finally we have… |
| Jasmine: Skulle [natural native speed]. |
| Morten: Should. |
| Jasmine: Skulle [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Skulle [natural native speed]. |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Morten: Let's now take a closer look at the words and phrases for this lesson. Several of the words in this lesson need some special attention. |
| Jasmine: Yes. First stop is the word tänka. |
| Morten: To think. |
| Jasmine: It seems straightforward… |
| Morten: But its usage have some peculiarities. First, tänka can be used as a quasi modal. |
| Jasmine: Which means together with another verb. In that case, it means “planning to”, “intending to.” Jag tänker åka med bussen. |
| Morten: “I’m intending to go by bus.” And what else is difficult about tänka? |
| Jasmine: Well, if you want to use tänka as freely and frequently as you use “think” in English, that doesn’t work. |
| Morten: Because it really only refers to the act of mental deliberation, doesn’t it? |
| Jasmine: That’s right. If you want to use “think” to introduce an opinion, the verb for that is tycka. |
| Morten: So be careful using tänka. Save it for when you’re actually contemplating something. |
| Jasmine: Next stop is the word “framme.” It literally means “in front” or “to have a ride.” |
| Morten: Sounds very Swedish to me. |
| Jasmine: Yes. Swedish have some remnants of endings that indicate either direction or being at a certain place. |
| Morten: Framme is for being somewhere, right? |
| Jasmine: Right. Jag är framme klockan sju which means, “I’m there at 7:00 o’clock.” |
| Morten: Listeners, please repeat after Jasmine. |
| Jasmine: Jag är framme klockan sju. |
| Morten: Well done, everybody. Jag är framme klockan sju. |
| Jasmine: Next, just a brief now on the word inte meaning “not.” |
| Morten: We’ve used that one a lot in our conversations and example phrases. |
| Jasmine: But we haven’t introduced it formally yet. |
| Morten: Then it’s time we did. As for where to put inte in a sentence, Swedish is fairly similar to English in that respect. |
| Jasmine: Han är inte här än. |
| Morten: “He’s not here yet.” Jag kan inte komma. |
| Jasmine: “I cannot come.” So dear listeners, how would say, “I cannot go” in Swedish? |
| Morten: Jag kan inte gå. Wonderful work, folks. |
| Jasmine: Last, we have the word trasig meaning “broken.” |
| Morten: How do we use it? |
| Jasmine: Well, it’s fine to use for objects, but difficult for abstract concepts like relationships. |
| Morten: And for people? |
| Jasmine: I suppose you could use it for a person, but calling a person trasig that person has been in a very sorry state indeed. |
| Morten: So it’s best to stick to objects when using trasig. Tack ska du ha! |
| Jasmine: Exactly. Tack själv! |
Lesson focus |
| Morten: Let’s take a look at the grammar for this lesson. In this lesson focus, we’ll review the use of modals. |
| Jasmine: We’ll also look at some traffic-related vocab and colloquialisms. |
| Morten: Let’s start with the colloquialisms. How can we tell our dialogue as informal? |
| Jasmine: Well, for the word Bärs for instance, it’s a pretty slangy word. |
| Morten: So you should use it only with your good friends. |
| Jasmine: Exactly. Ska vi ta en bärs? |
| Morten: “Shall we have a bevy?” |
| Jasmine: Would also be pretty colloquial in English, right? |
| Morten: That it would! Listeners, repeat after Jasmine. |
| Jasmine: Ska vi ta en bärs? |
| Morten: Very good indeed. Thank you. |
| Jasmine: And there is another give-away that this lesson’s dialogue is colloquial. It’s the word Nejmen... |
| Morten: Before translating this, let’s look at some of the constructions like it. |
| Jasmine: Jamen, jajamen, jajamensan. All three of those words combined Ja, yes, with men, but. |
| Morten: And all those words are pretty informal, right? |
| Jasmine: That’s right. They’re used to demonstrate appreciation of what the other person has said. |
| Morten: Or that it’s dedicated to doing what it required. |
| Jasmine: Nejmen, may sound like it should mean the opposite of those words, but it’s actually even more reassuring that you are indeed with the other person on something. |
| Morten: So if I ask you, “are we still going out tonight” in Swedish, you might respond with… |
| Jasmine: Nejmen absolut, meaning something along the lines of “but of course!” |
| Morten: Lovely. Thank you very much. Let’s now take a look at some more vocab. |
| Jasmine: In this lesson’s dialogue, we heard several words related to transportation. |
| Morten: The question that brought that topic was Hur ska du åka till universitetet? |
| Jasmine: “How will you get to the university?” |
| Morten: And the verb you use, those of riding various forms of transportation is ta, isn’t it? |
| Jasmine: Correct. Jag tar bussen. |
| Morten: “I take the bus.” You use the definite form of the noun after ta just that. |
| Jasmine: Yes, but the noun after ta is not always definite. You can see that in the last line of the dialogue, Men om vi tar en taxi tillbaka, kostar det jättemycket. |
| Morten: “But if we take a taxi back, it costs so very much.” |
| Jasmine: Here, taking a taxi, any taxi, not one specific cab, is too expensive to consider seriously as an option. |
| Morten: Ah. And that’s why we use the indefinite article there. |
| Jasmine: Yes. So if I ask you the question from above, Hur ska du åka till universitetet? |
| Morten: And you, dear listeners, wanted to say “by bike,” you’d say… |
| Jasmine: Jag tar cykeln. Excellent. And what about a taxi? |
| Morten: Jag tar en taxi. Very good. |
| Jasmine: Finally, let’s take another look at the modals we’ve covered so far. |
| Morten: Incidentally, we introduced two new ones in this lesson, although they had been used before in dialogues or example phrases. |
| Jasmine: Ooh, sneaky. Those two modals are ska… |
| Morten: “Shall, will, or have to.” |
| Jasmine: And skulle |
| Morten: “Should.” Previously, we had introduced Måste |
| Jasmine: “Have to.” |
| Morten: And kan. |
| Jasmine: “Can.” Yes. Those are pretty straightforward for English speakers. |
| Morten: Not every Swedish is as obvious in meaning as those two… |
| Jasmine: But most modals in Swedish behave the same way English modals do. |
| Morten: To be precise, they come before another verb in the infinitive. |
| Jasmine: As in this line from the dialogue, Först måste vi bestämma när vi ska åka. |
| Morten: “First, we have to decide when we will go.” But they may also stand on their own as in Jag måste hem. |
| Jasmine: “I have to go home.” Come to think of it, the dialogue this time had lots of modals. |
| Morten: And there is also the quasi modal Tänka We have used plenty of quasi modals up to now. |
| Jasmine: Like Hinna and Behöva verbs that can act as modals but usually stand as full verbs on their own. |
| Morten: Let’s take a look at some of the examples from our dialogue. |
| Jasmine: Starting with this one, Hur tänker du åka? |
| Morten: “How do you plan to go?” Listen to Jasmine and repeat. |
| Jasmine: Hur tänker du åka? |
| Morten: Great. And Man skulle ta en bärs. |
| Jasmine: “One should have a bevy.” Yes. Please listen and repeat, Man skulle ta en bärs. |
| Morten: Spot on. Thank you! Or Ska vi inte ta cykeln? |
| Jasmine: “Why don’t we take the bike?” Listen again and repeat after me, Ska vi inte ta cykeln?. |
| Morten: Very good, everyone. I think we have to wrap it up now. |
| Jasmine: Please bear in mind that semantically, when it comes to what words mean, modals in Swedish can be very different from English ones. |
| Morten: So it may take time to get used to them. |
| Jasmine: Just look at how both Ska and Måste can mean “have to” in their own contexts. |
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| Jasmine: Let us know… |
| Morten: By clicking the button next to lesson or series. Everyone, thanks very much for joining us this season. We hope you enjoyed it. |
| Jasmine: Yes. And that you’ll be with us again for series two. Tack så jättemycket! |
| Morten: Tack tack, hej då! |
| Jasmine: Hej då, vi ses! |
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