ställa

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See also: stalla

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish stælla, from Middle Low German stellen (to position, place upright), from Old Saxon stellian, from Proto-West Germanic *stalljan.

Pronunciation

  • Audio:(file)

Verb

ställa (present ställer, preterite ställde, supine ställt, imperative ställ)

  1. to place upright somewhere, to place in a standing position (not in a lying position)
    Ställ vasen på bordet!Put the vase on the table!
    Ställ skorna i hörnet!Put your shoes in the corner!
    Ställ bilen i garaget!Park the car in the garage!
    Ställ skidorna mot väggen!Put your skis against the wall!
    Ställ boken på bordet!Put the book upright on the table!
    Lägg inte vasen på bordet! Den kan rulla av.Don't lay the vase on the table! It might roll off.
  2. (reflexive) to go stand somewhere
    Ställ dig där!
    (Go) stand there!
    Han ställde sig längst fram på konserten
    He went up and stood at the very front at the concert
    Han ställde sig där, så nu står han där
    He went and stood there, so now he's standing there
  3. (reflexive, often with upp) to get on one's feet; to get up
    Synonym: resa
    Ställ dig (upp)!
    Get on your feet!
    Han var för svag för att ställa sig (upp)
    He was too weak to get up
    Han ställde sig (upp), så nu står han (upp)
    He stood up, so now he's standing
  4. to set or adjust (a setting, or a clock)
    Han ställde fläkten på max
    He put the fan on the max setting
    Han ställde klockan
    He set his clock
  5. (reflexive) to assume a position with regards to something (abstract)
    Jag kan inte ställa mig bakom det förslagetI can't support that proposal (Literally, "I can't put myself behind that proposal")
    Jag ställer mig tveksam till det
    I'm dubious about that (Literally, "I put myself dubious to that")
    att ställas inför svåra val
    to be forced to make tough decisions (Literally, "to be put before tough decisions")
  6. to make someone speechless with confusion; to make someone lost for words
    Hon blev helt ställd av hans uppträdande
    She was completely dumbfounded by his behavior
  7. (in expressions about asking questions like "ställa en fråga") to ask, to pose
    Du ställer svåra frågor
    You ask difficult questions
  8. (in expressions with krav (demand)) to make (demands)
    Man måste ställa krav!
    You have to make demands!
  9. (in expressions about making medical diagnoses) to make (a diagnosis)
    Jag har inte lyckats ställa en diagnos
    I have failed to make a diagnosis
  10. (in "ställa i ordning") Alternative form of iordningställa

Usage notes

  • For a squat object, ställa (as opposed to lägga) does not necessarily mean placing the object on its side, as the speaker might be thinking of the natural up ("upright") direction of the object. Similar ambiguity exists in English regarding which objects would be standing vs. lying on a table. For a plate being placed on a table, both ställa and lägga might be heard (with native speakers unlikely to notice that they use both). "Ställ den på sidan!" means "Put it on its side!", and "Ställ den upprätt (där)!" means "Put it upright (there)!", as clarifications.
  • (sense 6) often uses the past participle vara ställd (to be lost for words).
  • Idiomatically, "to ask a question" is always "att ställa en fråga" rather than "att fråga en fråga."

Conjugation

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Finnish: tällätä, tälläytyä

See also

References

Anagrams