Full Description
Swedish: A Comprehensive Grammar is an award-winning complete reference guide to modern Swedish grammar. This volume is organised to promote a thorough understanding of Swedish grammar, presenting the complexities of the language in a concise and readable form. Explanations are full, clear and free of jargon, and an extensive index, numbered paragraphs, cross-references and summary charts provide readers with easy access to the information they require.
This fourth edition has been exhaustively researched and updated to align with current standards in the description of language and to incorporate the most recent recommendations of Språkrådet, the Language Council of Sweden. The emphasis is on Swedish in everyday communication, drawing on contemporary corpus material and a wide range of printed and online sources to illustrate the use of high-frequency words and expressions. Examples have been systematically updated to reflect contemporary conventions and usage, and new content has been added to reflect the increasing democratisation of written Swedish.
Key features include:
· detailed treatment of grammatical structures and parts of speech
· a wealth of authentic examples, many drawn from mainstream news media and reliable online sources
· careful attention to areas that typically cause confusion or difficulty for learners
· Swedish/English contrasts highlighted throughout the book
· a new chapter outlining major differences in written and spoken Swedish, with notes on slang and youth argot.
Swedish: A Comprehensive Grammar is the most thorough and detailed Swedish grammar available in English and is an essential reference source for students and speakers of Swedish, irrespective of level.
Contents
Preface
Symbols and abbreviations used in the text
Chapter 1 Nouns
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Gender rules
1.3 Miscellaneous points of gender
1.4 Plural noun forms - the declensions
1.5 Miscellaneous points on indefinite plural forms
1.6 Special uses of the singular and plural
1.7 Noun homonyms
1.8 The genitive
1.9 The form of the indefinite article
1.10 The form of the definite (end) article
1.11 The use of the indefinite and definite (end) article
Chapter 2 Adjectives
2.1 Form and order
2.2 The indefinite declension
2.3 The definite declension
2.4 Adjectival nouns
2.5 Comparison of adjectives
Chapter 3 Pronouns
3.1 Personal pronouns
3.2 Function and reference of personal pronouns
3.3 Subject and object pronouns
3.4 Reflexive pronouns
3.5 Emphatic pronouns
3.6 Possessive adjectives and pronouns
3.7 Demonstrative pronouns
3.8 Determinative pronouns
3.9 Indefinite pronouns
3.10 Interrogative pronouns
3.11 Relative pronouns
Chapter 4 Numerals
4.1 Forms of numerals
4.2 The use of cardinal numbers
4.3 The use of ordinal numbers
4.4 Fractions
4.5 Dates
4.6 Telling the time
Chapter 5 Verbs
5.1 Form
5.2 The use of the tenses
5.3 Ways of expressing mood
5.4 Transitive, intransitive and reflexive verbs
5.5 -s forms of the verb and the passive
5.6 Compound verbs
5.7 Some translation hints
Chapter 6 Adverbs
6.1 Form
6.2 Meaning and function
6.3 Location and movement
6.4 Translating adverbs
Chapter 7 Prepositions
7.1 Introduction
7.2 The fifteen most common Swedish prepositions
7.3 Prepositional usage
Chapter 8 Conjunctions
8.1 Coordination and subordination
8.2 Coordinating conjunctions
8.3 Subordinating conjunctions
8.4 Other subordinators
8.5 Some translation hints
Chapter 9 Interjections
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Affirmations and denials
9.3 Reactions in conversation
9.4 Commands
9.5 Imitations
9.6 Polite expressions
9.7 Expletives
Chapter 10 Sentence structure and word order
10.1 Clause elements
10.2 Phrases
10.3 Main clause word order - basic positions
10.4 Subordinate clause word order - basic positions
10.5 Order within positions
10.6 Main clause transformations
10.7 Subordinate clauses
10.8 Emphasis
10.9 Ellipsis
10.10 Swedish word order summarised
Chapter 11 Word formation
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Affixation
11.3 Compounding
11.4 Expressive formation
11.5 Abbreviation
11.6 Foreign influences on Swedish
11.7 Conversion
Chapter 12 Orthography
12.1 Symbols and sounds
12.2 Spelling
12.3 Upper-case and lower-case letters
12.4 Miscellaneous
Chapter 13 Punctuation
13.1 Introduction -Punctuation marks
13.2 Addresses
13.3 Dates
Chapter 14 Written and spoken Swedish
14.1 Word choices in written and spoken Swedish
14.2 Swedish slang
14.3 Youth argot - förortssvenska
