lära

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See also: Lara, Lára, låra, and læra

Swedish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈlæːˌra/
  • Audio:(file)

Etymology 1

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From Middle Low German lēre or Old Saxon lēra. Compare Danish lære.

Noun

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lära c

  1. a scientific branch, a theory
  2. a creed, a doctrine, a tenet
  3. an apprenticeship
Declension
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Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From late Old Norse læra, lǽra, from Old Saxon lērian, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *laizijaną.

Verb

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lära (present lär, preterite lärde, supine lärt, imperative lär)

  1. to teach, to instruct
    Min vän lär mig franska.
    My friend is teaching me French.
  2. (reflexive) to learn, to study, to teach oneself
    Jag lär mig franska.
    I am learning French.
Usage notes
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The verb lära requires the presence of two objects; who is learning and what is being learnt. If the one who is learning is the same as the subject of the clause, the reflexive pronoun sig oneself must be placed immediately after the verb, and the construction is understood as to learn or study. If however the one who is learning is not the same as the subject of the clause, the construction is understood as to teach or instruct. In both cases the subject/matter being learnt must follow.

If who is learning is the same as the subject (co-referential), the source of the knowledge being imparted may be specified by a prepositional phrase headed by either av or från. If this source is an active instructor, av is preferred, and if a passive source, then från is the preferred choice.

  • Jag lär mig franska av min vän.
    I am learning French from my friend.
  • Jag lär mig franska från en bok.
    I am learning French from a book.

If the source of knowledge is practice or another activity, this may be conveyed through a subordinate clause, headed by genom:

  • Jag lär mig franska genom att prata med en vän.
    I am learning French by talking to a friend.
Conjugation
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Derived terms
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Verb

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lära (present lär)

  1. to be said to
    Han lär ha berättat det för henne igår
    He is said to / is bound to have told her yesterday
    • 1944, Pär Lagerkvist, Dvärgen; translated as Alexandra Dick, transl., The Dwarf, 1945:
      Det börjar bli ont om mat i staden. Här vid hovet märker vi det naturligtvis inte, men folket lär svälta.
      The town is beginning to run short on food. Of course we do not notice it at the court, but they say the people are starving / but the people are bound to be starving (with the first interpretation more likely for older texts).
  2. to be bound to (be very likely to)
    Eftersom han är fotbollsspelare lär han ha tränat väldigt hårt i sin ungdom
    Since he is a soccer player, he is bound to have trained very hard in his youth
    Är han norrman lär han prata norska
    If he is Norwegian, he is bound to speak Norwegian
    Hon lär aldrig våga klappa en krokodil igen efter att den där nästan åt upp henne
    She'll probably never ("is bound to never") dare pet another crocodile after that one almost ate her
    De lär göra den bästa pizzan i stan
    They're said to / are bound to (ambiguous) make the best pizza in town (with the first interpretation more likely without additional context)
  3. to have to
    Nu lär du springa om du ska hinna dit före åtta
    Now you'll have to run if you're to get there before eight
Usage notes
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  • The modern sense is commonly "to be bound to" rather than "to be said to," sometimes leading to ambiguity.
  • This lära is used only or almost only in the present tense (lär). To express was said to or certainly had to one would use another verb. Infinitive constructions like att lära ha berättat (to be said to have told) might be theoretically possible but is never or extremely seldom seen.

References

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Anagrams

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