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Subject-verb agreement
In English, a third-person singluar subject requires a verb form with an -s (in the present tense). Errors of agreement (also known as concord) sound particularly bad to native speakers. Poverty affect...
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Use of the definite article
The definite article (the) is not used in English quite as often as it is in Swedish. In addition, there is only partial overlap between the ways it is used in the two languages. Therefore, be very...
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Preposition choice
In the words of a famous author and translator, “Prepositions are hell”. They are one of the most difficult areas to learn. Nevertheless, we need to try to find the right preposition for each occasion....
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Choosing a relative pronoun
Choose carefully between that, which, and who.As a general rule, use that when a relative clause is restrictive (without a comma), which when a relative clause is non-restrictive (with a comma), and...
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Collective expressions with "the"
When we talk about groups of people using expressions such as “the rich” and “the poor”, these expressions are plural and are equivalent to “rich people” and “poor people”: The rich is less careful...
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Existential expressions
Be very careful of the distinction between “it is” and “there is”. In English, only “there is” is an existential (as in det finns in Swedish): It is a great deal of disagreement about this. There is a...
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"So" vs. "such"
Be careful of the distinction between “so” and “such”. Note that “so” is used to modify an adjective (so difficult), while “such” is used to modify a noun phrase (such difficulty), even when there is...
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V2 syntax
Although Swedish and English are closely related languages, there are certain differences in the syntax and word order of the two languages. In Swedish, there is a V2 rule which states that the verb...
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