Pending moderation
Hej!
I started teaching myself Swedish a short while ago. It works pretty well, thanks to this side.
Today I was reading a Swedish translation of a German song and encountered the word "bägge" and found out that it means the same thing as "båda".
So now my question is: What is the difference between those two words? When do I use them?
I googled it, but I only found answers in Swedish and my comprehension is not good enough for me to understand grammar subjects, yet.
It wpuld be great, if someone could help me!
Thanks.
Hej!
The words are synonyms and have the exact same meaning.
The word "båda" is the original/old infinitive form of the word, and "bägge" is an old possesive case. However, the word "bägge" has lived on, lost its meaning as a genetive and become a new infinitive form.
Essentially, both words have the same meaning... and no one can say that either one is more wrong or right than the other.
"Båda" is a lot more common in the written word and I assume(personal reflection) it's because older words tend to sound more proper when read than the new ones since they are basically bashed in to our heads.
There is no distinct indication that either of them will be dropped in the near future either, so feel free to use them both
Example:
I use both words.
Jag använder bägge/båda orden.
It might not apply to Swedish too, and a native Swedish speaker probably knows better than I do, but I thought it would be funny to add how it is in Danish:
Begge is when something / multiple things applies / apply to both things / persons.
Både is when multiple things apply to one thing / person or multiple things / persons.
Examples:
De er begge glade (They're both happy)
Anders og Anna er begge enige (Anders and Anne both agree)
Han er både træt og sulten (He is both tired and hungry)
De er både våde og udmattede (They're both wet and exhausted)
-Manden og damen er begge- -både overrasket og glade- for at se deres søn (-Both the man and the woman are- -both surprised and happy- to see their son)
Once again, this wasn't to correct deficiency's explanation, just a fun fact about how both languages have evolved in different directions :b
Bägge sounds old fashioned
Dear Aussie Junkie, et al:
I'm fluent in Norwegian, and am highly functional in Swedish and (written) Danish (but would definitely need an editor to proof-read anything I prepared for publication in Swedish!)
"Båda" is far more prevalent among Swedish speakers in Finland; bägge is more common in Sweden.
But there IS a distinction in Swedish between the usage of "bägge" and båda" -
You CAN'T really use "bägge" with "och": you can't say "bägge x och y": there you need to say "båda x och y". And if you're asked "Would you rather have x or y?" You can answer (literally): "Båda och." (with or without a hyphen.)
But "Bägge och." is incorrect; (and even more incorrect is "Bägge-ock."!) Which doesn't mean you can't find these forms increasingly occurring. But if'n yo' does, they sho-nuff ain't co-rekt Svedish grammar!)
(In fact, there is even a distinction in Swedish between the use of "båda" and the use of "både": This distinction is spelled out quite thoroughly (in Swedish) here:
https://snackasvenska.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/skillnaden-mellan-bada-oc...
A-J: I'm not sure if your Swedish is adequate to read grammatical explanations in Swedish? I can translate and summariitze it into German for you and P-M- it to you at a later date, if you need me to? (As a new member, I already used up my quota of only two p-m's per day before I even knew there was any such a limit!)
Or, IF it's of sufficient general interest(?), then I can also summarize and post it here in English, at some point.
"Både och" is right. Not "båda och."if not in slang? Official is Både och.
Ursäkta mig, Koshkoi: du har rätt! Jag skrev lite grann felaktigt!
både can only be used in conjunction with och
Sara Hörberg säger:
Både or båda?
Hej och gott nytt år!
A reader has sent me a question:
Can you give an explanation for the use of “båda” and “både”?
Thank you.
Både:
”Både … och” is a conjunction (”konjunktion” in Swedish). Here are a few examples:
Anna vill ha både jordgubbsssylt och vispgrädde på sina våfflor.
(Anna wants both strawberry jam and whipped cream on her waffles.)
Gösta talar både tyska och engelska.
(Gösta speaks both English and German.)
Restaurangen serverar både öl och vin.
(The restaurant serves both beer and wine.)
Båda:
“Båda (två)” is a pronoun (“pronomen” in Swedish). A couple of examples:
Två bilar i krock. Båda började brinna.
(Two cars in crash. Both caught fire.)
Hur skriver jag ut på båda sidorna av papperet?
(How do I print on both sides of the paper?)
http://www.thelocal.se/blogs/swedishteacher/2016/01/09/bade-or-bada/
Tack!