LESSON NOTES

Beginner S1 #5
Making Swedish Small Talk

CONTENTS
2 Swedish
2 English
3 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
5 Grammar
6 Cultural Insight

# 5
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 SWEDISH

1. Johan: Så Lisa, hur känner du Karin?

2. Lisa: Vi pluggar tillsammans.

3. Johan: Jaha, så du pluggar också till sjuksköterska?

4. Lisa: Det stämmer. Och du, hur känner du Karin?

5. Johan: Vi är barndomskamrater.

6. Lisa: Jasså. Så, vad jobbar du med?

7. Johan: Jag jobbar på bank.

8. Lisa: Jaha, vad interessant. Berätta mer.

ENGLISH

1. Johan: So Lisa, how do you know Karin?

2. Lisa: We're studying together.

3. Johan: Oh really, so you are also studying to become a nurse?

4. Lisa: That's right. And you, how do you know Karin?

5. Johan: We're childhood friends.

6. Lisa: I see. So, what do you do?

CONT'D OVER

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7. Johan: I'm working at a bank.

8. Lisa: Oh, that's interesting. Tell me more.

VOCABULARY

S w e dish English C lass

Berätta mer Tell me more expression

vad intressant that’s/it’s interesting expression

känna to know, feel verb

hur how adverb

plugga study verb

tillsammans together adverb

sjuksköterska nurse noun

barndomsvänner childhood friends noun

att jobba work verb

bank bank noun

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Berätta mer om ditt jobb. Vad interessant det är att prata med dig.

"Tell me more about your job." "It is very interesting to talk to you."

Jag känner många med sådana cyklar. Hur mår du?

"I know many with such bikes." "How are you?"

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Jag pluggar varje dag i skolan och 3 Emma och David bor tillsammans.
timmar varje kväll.
Emma and David live together.
"I study every day at school, and for three
hours each night."

Anna och jag gick tillsammans till Sjuksköterskan undersöker eleverna i

festen. skolsjukstugan.

"Anna and I went together to the party." "The nurse at the school infirmary is
examining the student."

Anna och Lisa är inte barndomsvänner. Att jobba som sjuksköterska är roligt.

"Anna and Lisa are not childhood friends." "To work as a nurse is fun."

Banken stänger klockan sex.

"The bank closes at six o'clock."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

att plugga ("to study")

In this lesson's dialogue, we introduced the verb att plugga ("to study"). There is, however,
another verb that we can use interchangeably with it: namely, the verb att studera. Att plugga
is probably used more frequently than att studera, at least in daily speech and casual
conversations. Att studera, on the other hand, is probably used more often in written language
or in formal conversation.

vad interesant ("that's/it's interesting")

This expression will prove to be very useful when interacting with new people since it signals
that you are actually listening to them and that you find what they are saying to be of interest.
However, you should be careful so you do not use it too frequently, because it might not seem

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sincere if you repeat it too often.

berätta mer ("tell me more")

Berätta mer is an excellent phrase to know and master when you are interacting with people
you do not know. First of all, as in the example of vad interessant ("that is interesting"), you are
showing that you are listening, and second of all, if you find yourself in a situation where the
conversation is not really going smoothly, this might actually keep the conversation going for
a bit longer.

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is Verbs in Their Present Tense.

Så, vad jobbar du med?
"So, what do you do?"

When meeting new people, asking them about what they do is always a good idea to keep
the conversation going. You can easily do this by using this simple sentence Vad jobbar du
med? which literally translates to "What do you work with?" In addition to the verb jobbar
("works") that is introduced in this key sentence, we have also presented two other new verbs
that appear in the dialogue: the verb känner ("knows") and the verb pluggar ("studies"). As
you might have noticed, all of these three verbs appear in their present tense. In previous
lessons, we have already talked about how we use verbs in their present tense. So in this
lesson, we will go further and look how we can change verbs into their present tense.

How to Form Verbs in Their Present Tense

In order to change verbs into their present tense, you need to know the stem of the verb.

The first class is those verbs whose stem ends in an -a, and the stem of these verbs is the
same as the verb in its infinitive form. Some examples of verbs that have already been
introduced that belong to this class are att kosta, att plugga, and att jobba. To change these

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verbs into their present tense, you simply add an -r. Hence, the change to kostar, pluggar, and
jobbar in their present tense.

Verb Stem Infinitive Present Tense

kosta att kosta kostar

plugga att plugga pluggar

jobba att jobba jobbar

The second class of verb is the verbs with stems that end in a consonant. The verb stem of
these verbs is not the same as the verbs in their infinitive forms, and you therefore have to
add an -a to their stem to form the infinitive or an -er to the stem to form the present tense.
Examples of verbs that belong to this class are the verbs att heta, att komma, and att stämma,
which change to heter, kommer, and stämmer in their present tense.

Verb Stem Infinitive Present Tense

het att heta heter

komm att komma kommer

stämm att stämma stämmer

The third class of verb is those with stems that end in a vowel other than -a. As in the class of
verb stems that end in -a, the verb stem is the same as the verb in its infinitive form. To form
these verbs in their present tense, you simply add an -r to the stem. Examples of verb from
this class are att bo ("to live") and att gå ("to go"), which change into bor and går in their
present tense.

Verb Stem Infinitive Present Tense

bo att bo bor

gå att gå går

CULTURAL INSIGHT

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Getting to Know People in Sweden

Going to a social event and meeting new people is often a great experience. However, talking
to new people can sometimes be uncomfortable and awkward, especially if you are in an
unfamiliar culture and do not know all the cultural codes. Meeting and talking with Swedish
people for the first time is usually quite casual, but there are a few things that you should
know.

When meeting someone for the first time in Sweden, the appropriate thing to do is usually to
shake his or her hand. What is considered as a "good" handshake differs from culture to
culture, but in Sweden a firm handshake is considered better than a loose one, since it
signals that you are outgoing and confident. By the same token, while shaking someone's
hand, establishing eye contact is also a good thing.

When it comes to suitable topics for a conversation with people you have just met, asking
about what they do is always a safe bet. It is also considered polite to take an interest in what
the person you are taking to is saying, and asking more questions about what the person
already told you is great way of doing this.

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