Det är inte till er.

Sentence Discussions Swedish
#1
English Translation

It’s not for you.

Why is it till instead of för?

#2

Here, det could refer to a letter; another way to say it is “Det är inte adresserat till er”.

If the intended meaning is “It’s not intended for you”, I would translate it as “Det är ingenting för er”. “Det är inte för er” sounds a bit odd in isolation, but I could imagine “Det är inte för er jag gör det”.

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#3

I learned that when (not) giving something to somebody, till is usually the best word. It’s a rule that I simply had to learn and have to check everytime I can’t decide between för, till and åt.

åt is used when you do something for someone with the intention that she/he no longer has to do it.

för is used in other cases.

Examples:

  • “Hon köpte presenter till alla sina barn.” = She bought each of her children a present.
  • “Hon köpte (tillräckligt mycket) öl för alla sina gäster.” = She bought a sufficiently large quantity of beer so that she would have enough to be able to serve everyone and so that every one of her guests could drink some and not have to miss out.
  • “Hon köpte öl åt sin pappa.” = She bought beer for her dad who was too busy to buy it himself.
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#4

“Hon köpte (tillräckligt med/mycket) öl.” (“Tillräckligt öl”: beer of sufficient quality)

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