# Swedish: Det var ... !



## Mr.TechComm

Why do Swedes use *the verb "to be"* in the past form in the following contexts?

Context 1

A Swedish girl and her non-Swedish boyfriend are having dinner. The food is delicious so the girl says while they are _still_ eating: *"Det var gott!"*, meaning   *It’s nice/delicious!* Her boyfriend answers in a sarcastic way:  *"did you finish?"*


Context 2

The same Swedish girl is in a shop holding a very nice dress that she would like to try on and she says:* "This was nice!" *The girl is translating literally from Swedish: *Det var fint!* Her boyfriend asks, once again sarcastically: *"Isn't the dress nice anymore?"*


Context 1 with a different person and in a different language

The same guy has a Swedish friend who doesn't make the same mistake in the same contexts when speaking in English. But she _does_ make the mistake when she says it in Spanish, a language that she can speak quite well: *"¡Estaba riquísimo!"* (_lit._ *Det var gott!*), something that Spanish-speaking people do not say while eating (*¡Está riquísimo!*) but only after eating.


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## cocuyo

Sencillamente no sé porqué usamos esa expresión. Sólo es así. El sueco, como los demás idiomas, carece de lógica en muchos contextos, y en otros tiene una lógica distinta a la de otros idiomas. Son cosas de aprender nada más. 

Otro ejemplo parecido es el uso de "llevar" y "traer", que para hispanohablantes parece que siempre se refiere al lugar donde uno está en el presente, mientras para un sueco es más natural pensar de como si estuviera en el lugar de que se habla. Entonces puedo pensar, aquí en Estocolmo, de cosas que yo he llevado a Santiago como si lo hubiera _traido_, y en Santiago puedo pensar de cosas que traje, que las he _llevado_ de Estocolmo. El uso de estos dos verbos es muy difícil de aprender, la manera de pensar sencillamente es distinta.


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## Wilma_Sweden

It's perfectly OK to say that the meal *was* tasty even before you've finished eating because your statement is based on the taste of it: once you've tried your first mouthful, you say: Det var gott!, because you mean "I've tried it, and liked it". The same is true about the dress: "I've now seen the dress, and my judgement was that it's nice-looking". Den var fin.

It doesn't mean that we always do this as a rule, we might as well have used the present tense, but the past tense is common and not wrong in Swedish. Transferring this usage to English or Spanish is, of course, a huge mistake, so in those contexts, the sarcastic comments are certainly called for! 

Cucuyo mentioned llevar/traer which of course creates problems for Swedes, too, in Spanish - as well as in English with bring/take.

/Wilma


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## Södertjej

I suppose you just can't find the logic in some usages, like "nunca me ha gustado". If you still don't like it, why do you use a past tense, which otherwise is only used to refer to past events? This is simply part of the idiomatic usages you need to learn in any language. I hope the girl having dinner replied in an even more sarcastic way to his boyfriend, who made clear with his remark his Swedish was very limited. It's a dangerous thing to make fun of the natives.


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## Mr.TechComm

cocuyo said:


> (...) Otro ejemplo parecido es el uso de "llevar" y "traer", que para hispanohablantes parece que siempre se refiere al lugar donde uno está en el presente, mientras para un sueco es más natural pensar de como si estuviera en el lugar de que se habla. (...)  *la manera de pensar* sencillamente *es distinta*.



True! They are different ways of seeing the same thing. This is in my opinion one of the things that makes learning languages interesting. Thanks for your answer, cocuyo! 



Wilma_Sweden said:


> It's perfectly OK to say that the meal *was* tasty even before you've finished eating because your statement is based on the taste of it: once you've tried your first mouthful, you say: Det var gott!, because you mean "I've tried it, and liked it". The same is true about the dress: "I've now seen the dress, and my judgement was that it's nice-looking". Den var fin.   (...)
> /Wilma


 Thanks Wilma_Sweden! Now I can see the logic! The funny thing is that I've been trying to see the logic for 2 years and I had never found it. I've asked some Swedish but none could give me a better answer than this: "I don't know why, it's just the way we say it".



Wilma_Sweden said:


> (...) Transferring this usage to English or Spanish is, of course, a huge mistake, so in those contexts, the sarcastic comments are certainly called for!
> /Wilma



The thing is that she is getting quite tired of listening to the same answer again and again. My strategy (sarcasm) is not the best way of teaching at all.  Shame on me! 



Södertjej said:


> I suppose you just can't find the logic in some usages, like "nunca me ha gustado". If you still don't like it, why do you use a past tense, which otherwise is only used to refer to past events?



True! As a native Spanish speaker, I have never wondered why. Typical!



Södertjej said:


> I hope the girl having dinner replied in an even more sarcastic way to his boyfriend, who made clear with his remark his Swedish was very limited. It's a dangerous thing to make fun of the natives.



 Du har rätt!   Hon borde svara ironiskt. Det är faktisk vad hon gör varje gång: hon skrattar sarkastiskt eftersom det inte är roligt längre! Det är hennes taktik mot språkpolisen (det är vad hon säger att jag är).
Det är kanske inte så farlig att skratta åt svenskarna eftersom de har jättebra humor men det är också sant att man borde vara mer diplomatiskt "hos" någon annan ("en casa ajena" menar jag) / utomlands.
 Killen som skojar hela tiden kan efter 3 år i Sverige tala flytande svenska  så hans svenska nivå är inte så "limited"¿gränsad? Men han har fortfarande en "long way to go" för att behärska det svenska språket. Därför antar jag att jag har gjort många fel på detta text. Feel free you all to correct me!


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## solregn

Mr.TechComm said:


> Du har rätt!   Hon borde svara ironiskt. Det är faktisk*t* vad hon gör varje gång: hon skrattar sarkastiskt eftersom det inte är roligt längre! Det är hennes taktik mot språkpolisen (det är vad hon säger att jag är).
> Det är kanske inte så farlig*t* att skratta åt svenskarna eftersom de har jättebra humor men det är också sant att man borde vara mer diplomatiskt "hos" någon annan ("en casa ajena" menar jag) / utomlands.
> Killen som skojar hela tiden kan efter 3 år i Sverige tala flytande svenska  så hans svenska nivå är inte så "limited" *be*gränsad? Men han har fortfarande en "long way to go" för att behärska det svenska språket. Därför antar jag att jag har gjort många fel på detta *i denna *text. Feel free you all to correct me!



Min pojkvän är fransman och retas också med mig när jag (utan att tänka mig för) använder det här svenska sättet att uttrycka sig när jag pratar franska - där det inte heller fungerar! Om jag är på bra humör ändrar jag mig snabbt och säger om, på rätt sätt. Är jag det inte, biter jag tillbaka: "heter det en eller ett bord? nej, det har du ingen aning om!" och då brukar han le lite fåraktigt och be om ursäkt


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## Wilma_Sweden

Mr.TechComm said:


> The thing is that she is getting quite tired of listening to the same answer again and again. My strategy (sarcasm) is not the best way of teaching at all.  Shame on me!


Indeed! If I were in that girl's shoes, I'd tell him 'håll flabben, din fubbick' or something to that effect... 

/Wilma


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## Mr.TechComm

Thanks for the corrections, *solregn*! You are a star!



Wilma_Sweden said:


> Indeed! If I were in that girl's shoes, I'd tell him *'håll flabben, din fubbick' *or something to that effect...



* : D* *(big laugh)*


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## Lugubert

Wilma_Sweden said:


> Indeed! If I were in that girl's shoes, I'd tell him 'håll flabben, din fubbick' or something to that effect...
> 
> /Wilma


Varför inte, men i min (något brutna) skånska betyder fubbick "fuskare".


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## Wilma_Sweden

Lugubert said:


> Varför inte, men i min (något brutna) skånska betyder fubbick "fuskare".


Jo, om möjligt var det ursprungsbetydelsen, men de flesta härnere använder det som allmänt epitet, typ pucko, idiot, etc...

/Wilma


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## Lugubert

Wilma_Sweden said:


> Jo, om möjligt var det ursprungsbetydelsen, men de flesta härnere använder det som allmänt epitet, typ pucko, idiot, etc...
> 
> /Wilma


Misstänkte det. Jag "lärde" mig ordet på sent femtiotal/tidigt sextiotal.


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