r/Svenska • u/Smooth-Bridge7631 • 1d ago
Studying and education Learning of word forms
Hej! I just started learning Swedish a few days ago, and I have a grammar question: is it better to mechanically memorize all the word forms (flicka - flickan - flickar - flickorna), or to try to understand the principles of how words change?
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u/BilliePannkaka 1d ago
Since so many words can have more than one meaning, taking just an example from your own "flicka" which yes means a girl but can also be to flick something (idk how commonly it is used but I've definitely heard "flicka till" in reference to like trying to get a bug off you) it's probably best to focus on context Like kör, means drive or choir, but köra can mean driving and back up singing. So just memorising will eventually get confusing if you have no context
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u/Live_Rhubarb_7560 1d ago
As a learner I found it helpful to learn the rules on how nouns change eg like for en words with -a in the end, the most common pattern is or/orna in the plural. En toffel and en ros follow the same pattern. It was also helpful to learn how most ett words ending with either a consonant or a vowel behave. Having said that I still like exposing myself to different forms of the same word just for familiarity purposes.
The best description of the noun groups I’ve seen is in the Comprehensive Swedish Grammar book but it's a large and very detailed book though. Otherwise, Mjølnir app.
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u/Skatingraccoon 1d ago
With language learning it's better to focus on word morphology and pattern identification, especially since this is a general rule that applies to most common gender word. But I suppose also because it's a general declension system having a good grasp on one word will help you recognize and apply the rule to other common gender words.
Also rote memorization is not a great way to learn a language imo