Dialogue

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Hello and welcome to Swedish Survival Phrases brought to you by SwedishPod101.com. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Sweden. You will be surprised at how far a little Swedish will go.
Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by SwedishPod101.com, and there, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. When you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment.

Lesson focus

Swedish Survival Phrases Lesson 53 - Asking the time in Swedish.
No matter where you are, you'll always have someplace to be. Today, we will look at a question that will give the tools to find out how much time you have left to get there. We'll also give you the tools to understand.
In Swedish, "What time is it?" is Vad är klockan?
Vad är klockan?
Let's break it down by syllable: Vad är klockan?
Now, let's hear it once again: Vad är klockan?
The first word Vad means "what."
Vad.
Let's break down this word and hear it one more time: Vad.
Vad.
This is followed by Är, which means "is."
Är.
Är.
This is followed by Klockan, which in Swedish is "the clock."
Klockan.
Klockan.
So, all together, we have Vad är klockan? Literally, this means "What is the clock?"
In Sweden, we use the 24-hour clock, which means that we start to count from 0, which is 12 a.m. We actually call this 00, noll noll. And end up at 24, which also is at 12 a.m. In spoken Swedish, we sometimes tend to use the 12-hour clock though.
When we announce the time, we first say the number of the minutes followed by I or Över, which in this case mean "to" or "past." And lastly, we say the number. The pattern goes like "five minutes to ten," which is Fem i tio or Fem minuter i tio.
Fem means "five." Minuter means "minutes." I means "to." And, Tio means "ten." Often, the word for "minutes" gets dropped.
In Swedish, expressing that you've got 30 minutes to the next hour is made with the word for "half," which in Swedish is Halv.
Halv.
This precedes the following hour. Let's take ten as an example. "Thirty minutes to ten," is Halv tio. Where Halv means "half," and Tio means "ten."
"Quarter" in Swedish is Kvart.
Kvart..
And is used as in English to express "a quarter to." Let's try with "a quarter to ten." In Swedish, "a quarter to ten" is Kvart i tio.
Kvart i tio.
Kvart i tio.

Outro

Okay, to close out this lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for saying it aloud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so Lycka till, that means “good luck” in Swedish. Okay, here we go!
"What time is it?" - Vad är klockan?
Vad är klockan?
"Thirty minutes to ten." - Halv tio.
Halv tio.
"A quarter to ten." - Kvart i tio.
Kvart i tio.
Alright, that's going to do it for today. Remember to stop by SwedishPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. When you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment.

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