böra
Nias
Etymology
Borrowed from Malay beras, ultimately from Proto-Austronesian *bəʀas.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbɤra/
Noun
böra
- rice (husked raw grain)
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Swedish böra (Old Norse byrja), from Proto-Germanic *gaburjaną.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbøːra/, [ˈbœ̞ːra]
Verb
böra (present bör, preterite borde, supine bort, imperative bör)
- should, ought to
- Hon bör sitta i båten.
- She should be sitting in the boat.
- Det borde fungera.
- That should work.
- Du borde verkligen utnyttja möjligheten att förlänga avtalet.
- You should really use the opportunity to extend the agreement.
Usage notes
Böra indicates a recommendation or probability, or obligation perceived from the point of the speaker. This differs from måste which signifies an absolute requirement or even force. The difference between present tense bör and past tense borde is not so much of tense, but of the strength of the request. Borde is less strong and perceived as more polite, and is more like making a suggestion that the subject is free to ignore. In the case of statements of reality such as "Det borde fungera", borde indicates more uncertainty than bör; the speaker is not sure if it will work, but they believe it will.
Conjugation
| Active | Passive | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | böra | — | ||
| Supine | bort | — | ||
| Imperative | bör | — | ||
| Imper. plural1 | bören | — | ||
| Present | Past | Present | Past | |
| Indicative | bör | borde | — | — |
| Ind. plural1 | böra | borde | — | — |
| Subjunctive2 | böre | borde | — | — |
| Participles | ||||
| Present participle | börande | |||
| Past participle | — | |||
| 1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs. | ||||
Related terms
- vederböra
Further reading
- böra in Svensk ordbok.
Anagrams
- bröa