What exactly does "nu tar vi tag i" mean?

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grasshopper
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What exactly does "nu tar vi tag i" mean?

Postby grasshopper » 2018-11-26, 20:49

Hi!

Does anyone know the correct translation for "nu tar vi tag i", e.g. "Nu tar vi tag i polisbristen"?

Thanks

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linguoboy
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Re: What exactly does "nu tar vi tag i" mean?

Postby linguoboy » 2018-11-26, 21:20

grasshopper wrote:Does anyone know the correct translation for "nu tar vi tag i", e.g. "Nu tar vi tag i polisbristen"?

The basic meaning of tag is "hold" or "grip", e.g.:

Släpp inte taget! "Don't let go!" (lit. "release not the-grip")

Ta tag i is parallel to English take hold of, i.e. "grip, seize", e.g.:

Ta tag i röret. "Take hold of the pipe."
Vinden tog tag i taket. "The wind took hold of the roof."

But it is often used metaphorically to mean "come to grips with something, deal with, handle":

Vi tar tag i det här. "We're taking action on this."

The most fitting translation for nu tar vi tag i polisbristen would depend on the context, but it would means something like, "We're now coming to grips with the police shortage" or "We're now dealing with the shortage of police officers".
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

grasshopper
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Re: What exactly does "nu tar vi tag i" mean?

Postby grasshopper » 2018-11-29, 22:12

Thank you so much for such a thorough answer!

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linguoboy
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Re: What exactly does "nu tar vi tag i" mean?

Postby linguoboy » 2018-11-29, 22:16

Det var så lite!
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

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Johanna
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Re: What exactly does "nu tar vi tag i" mean?

Postby Johanna » 2018-11-29, 22:22

grasshopper wrote:Hi!

Does anyone know the correct translation for "nu tar vi tag i", e.g. "Nu tar vi tag i polisbristen"?

Thanks

linguoboy has already given you the rundown, I just want to add that when phrased like this, it's a promise for the future. One that starts now.
Swedish (sv) native; English (en) good; Norwegian (no) read fluently, understand well, speak badly; Danish (dk) read fluently, understand badly, can't speak; Faroese (fo) read some, understand a bit, speak a few sentences; German (de) French (fr) Spanish (es) forgetting; heritage language.


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