Contents · A1
- The present
- Word order and questions
- Nouns and articles
- Gender and the indefinite article: en bil, ett hus
- The definite form: bilen, huset
- Indefinite or definite form: en hund, hunden
- The plural: the five declensions, bilar, parker, hus
- The definite plural: bilarna, äpplena, husen
- The genitive: Annas bok, Sveriges huvudstad
- Demonstratives: den här bilen, det där huset
- Numbers as nouns: en etta, tvåan, femman
- Negation
- The infinitive and the auxiliaries
- Pronouns and possession
- Adjectives
- Time and place
- The future
- The preteritum
- The imperative
- The perfekt
Tap a sentence to see its translation.
A Swedish noun is either an en-word (common gender) or an ett-word (neuter gender). The gender shows in the indefinite article, in the definite ending and often in the plural: en bil, bilen, bilar, bilarna; ett hus, huset, hus, husen.
Gender and the indefinite article: en bil, ett hus#
Formation
Every noun belongs to one of two genders. An en-word (common gender) takes the indefinite article en: en bil, en bok, en stol. An ett-word (neuter gender) takes ett: ett hus, ett bord, ett äpple. The form of a noun seldom shows its gender, so each noun is learnt with its article. Ett is also the number “one”, and en is “one” before an en-word.
| en-word | ett-word |
|---|---|
| en bil (a car) | ett hus (a house) |
| en flicka (a girl) | ett barn (a child) |
| en lägenhet (a flat) | ett rum (a room) |
| en kopp (a cup) | ett glas (a glass) |
Use
The indefinite article is used, as English “a” is, for one thing that is not yet known: Jag har en katt och två hundar. An uncountable noun has no article: Vi köper bröd och mjölk.
- Johan köper en tidning och ett äpple.Johan buys a newspaper and an apple.
- Vi bor i en lägenhet i Umeå.We live in a flat in Umeå.
- Vill du ha ett äpple?Would you like an apple?
- Jag dricker kaffe.I drink coffee.
Difference from English
English has one article, “a” or “an”, chosen by the sound that follows. Swedish has two, chosen by the gender of the noun: en or ett.
Common mistakes
en hus→ ett husHus is an ett-word.ett bil→ en bilBil is an en-word.
Practise
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The definite form: bilen, huset#
Formation
Swedish has no separate word for “the” before a noun on its own: the definite article is an ending added to the noun. An en-word takes -en, or -n after a vowel; an ett-word takes -et, or -t after a vowel.
| Ends in a consonant | Ends in a vowel | |
|---|---|---|
| en-word | bil, bilen; stol, stolen | flicka, flickan; pojke, pojken |
| ett-word | hus, huset; bord, bordet | äpple, äpplet |
Spelling
An en-word in unstressed -el, -er or -or takes only -n: nyckel, nyckeln; dator, datorn. A few short nouns ending in -m or -n after a short vowel double the consonant: rum, rummet; man, mannen; vän, vännen.
- Var är bilen?Where is the car?
- Huset är stort.The house is big.
- Flickan heter Elsa.The girl’s name is Elsa.
- Datorn är ny.The computer is new.
- Rummet är litet.The room is small.
Difference from English
English places “the” before the noun; Swedish adds the article to the end of the noun: “the car” is one word, bilen.
Common mistakes
den bil→ bilen“The” on its own is an ending, not a word.husen(for “the house”) → huset An ett-word takes -et in the singular; husen is the plural.
Practise
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Indefinite or definite form: en hund, hunden#
Use
The indefinite and definite forms are used as English “a” and “the” are. The indefinite form introduces a thing for the first time, or one of a kind: Vi har en hund. The definite form is used once the thing is known, because it has been mentioned, because it is present, or because there is only one: Hunden heter Bosse. Var är nyckeln? Solen är varm.
- Jag köper en jacka. Jackan är blå.I’m buying a jacket. The jacket is blue.
- Det finns ett kafé här. Kaféet är nytt.There’s a café here. The café is new.
- Var är toaletten?Where is the toilet?
- Solen är varm i dag.The sun is hot today.
Difference from English
The choice between the two forms is almost the same in English and Swedish; only the shape differs: “the book” is boken. A few uses differ, such as på morgonen (“in the morning”), set out in Saying when: klockan, på måndag, i januari, för … sedan, om.
Common mistake
Jag har en katt. En katt är svart.→ Jag har en katt. Katten är svart.A thing already mentioned is in the definite form.
Practise
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The plural: the five declensions, bilar, parker, hus#
Formation
The indefinite plural is formed with one of five endings, which divide nouns into five declensions. Swedish has no plural in -s.
| Declension | Ending | Nouns | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -or | en-words in -a, the -a dropped | flicka, flickor; väska, väskor; klocka, klockor |
| 2 | -ar | many en-words; a final unstressed -e dropped | bil, bilar; hund, hundar; pojke, pojkar |
| 3 | -er or -r | many en-words, often loanwords; -r after a few vowels | park, parker; student, studenter; sko, skor |
| 4 | -n | ett-words ending in a vowel | äpple, äpplen; meddelande, meddelanden |
| 5 | none | ett-words ending in a consonant; en-words in -are | hus, hus; barn, barn; lärare, lärare |
Use
The declension of an en-word not ending in -a is learnt with the noun: bil, bilar, but park, parker. Some nouns of declension 3 double a consonant or change their vowel: vän, vänner; bok, böcker. An ett-word ending in a consonant has the same form in the singular and the plural: ett barn, två barn. A number above one is followed by the plural: tre bilar.
- Lisa och Erik har fyra katter.Lisa and Erik have four cats.
- Jag köper tre bananer.I’m buying three bananas.
- Det finns många parker i Stockholm.There are many parks in Stockholm.
- Karin har tre barn.Karin has three children.
- Hotellet har tjugo rum.The hotel has twenty rooms.
Difference from English
English adds -s to almost every noun. In Swedish five declensions share the nouns, and one of them has no ending at all: “two houses” is två hus.
Common mistakes
två bils→ två bilarSwedish has no plural in -s.fyra rummar→ fyra rumAn ett-word ending in a consonant takes no plural ending.bilor→ bilar-or is the plural of en-words in -a.
Practise
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The definite plural: bilarna, äpplena, husen#
Formation
The definite plural is formed by adding an ending to the indefinite plural. The ending depends on the declension.
| Indefinite plural | Ending | Definite plural |
|---|---|---|
| in -or, -ar, -er, -r | -na | flickorna, bilarna, parkerna, skorna |
| in -n | -a | äpplena |
| ett-word with no ending | -en | husen, barnen |
| en-word in -are | -na, the -e dropped | lärarna |
| Declension | Singular | Definite singular | Plural | Definite plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | en flicka | flickan | flickor | flickorna |
| 2 | en bil | bilen | bilar | bilarna |
| 3 | en park | parken | parker | parkerna |
| 4 | ett äpple | äpplet | äpplen | äpplena |
| 5 | ett hus | huset | hus | husen |
- Var är barnen?Where are the children?
- Skorna är dyra.The shoes are expensive.
- Bussarna går klockan sju.The buses leave at seven.
- Äpplena är gröna.The apples are green.
Difference from English
English “the” is the same in the singular and the plural. In Swedish the definite plural has its own endings: “the cars” is bilarna, “the houses” husen.
Common mistakes
husena→ husenAn ett-word with no plural ending takes -en.huset(for “the houses”) → husen Huset is the definite singular.
Practise
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The genitive: Annas bok, Sveriges huvudstad#
Formation
The genitive is formed by adding -s to a name or a noun, with no apostrophe: Annas bok, Sveriges huvudstad, flickans katt. A name that already ends in -s takes no further ending: Lars bil.
Use
The noun that follows a genitive has no article and no definite ending, although its meaning is definite: Eriks hund (“Erik’s dog”), Stockholms parker (“Stockholm’s parks”).
- Det är Saras telefon.It’s Sara’s phone.
- Pers syster bor i Lund.Per’s sister lives in Lund.
- Lunds parker är vackra på sommaren.Lund’s parks are beautiful in summer.
- Lärarens namn är Karin.The teacher’s name is Karin.
Difference from English
English writes an apostrophe (“Anna’s”); Swedish does not: Annas. English often uses “of” with places (“the capital of Sweden”); Swedish uses the genitive: Sveriges huvudstad.
Common mistakes
Annas boken→ Annas bokAfter a genitive the noun has no definite ending.Anna’s bok→ Annas bokThe genitive has no apostrophe.
Practise
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Demonstratives: den här bilen, det där huset#
Formation
“This” and “these” are den här (en-word), det här (ett-word) and de här (plural); “that” and “those” are den där, det där and de där. The noun after them is in the definite form.
| en-word | ett-word | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| this, these | den här bilen | det här huset | de här bilarna |
| that, those | den där bilen | det där huset | de där bilarna |
- Den här jackan är billig.This jacket is cheap.
- Vem bor i det där huset?Who lives in that house?
- De här skorna är nya.These shoes are new.
- Jag vill ha den där kakan.I’d like that cake.
Difference from English
English “this car” has the noun without an article. In Swedish the noun after den här is definite: den här bilen, word for word “this here the-car”.
Common mistakes
den här bil→ den här bilenThe noun after a demonstrative is in the definite form.den här huset→ det här husetHus is an ett-word, so the demonstrative is det här.
Practise
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Numbers as nouns: en etta, tvåan, femman#
Formation
A number used as a noun, for a digit, a bus or tram line, a flat or a school year, is an en-word formed with -a (fyra and åtta are unchanged), with the definite form in -n and the plural in -or: en etta, ettan, ettor.
| Number | Noun | Definite |
|---|---|---|
| ett | en etta | ettan |
| två | en tvåa | tvåan |
| tre | en trea | trean |
| fyra | en fyra | fyran |
| fem | en femma | femman |
| sex | en sexa | sexan |
| sju | en sjua | sjuan |
| åtta | en åtta | åttan |
Use
A flat is named by its number of rooms, the kitchen not counted: en trea has three rooms and a kitchen. A bus line or a school year is in the definite form: Jag tar femman (“I take the number five”), Min dotter går i trean (“My daughter is in year three”).
- Vi bor i en tvåa.We live in a two-room flat.
- Ta sexan till stationen!Take the number six to the station!
- Min son går i fyran.My son is in year four.
Difference from English
English uses the numeral with a noun (“a two-room flat”, “the number five bus”, “year four”); Swedish uses the number as a noun on its own: en tvåa, femman, fyran.
Common mistake
Vi bor i en två.→ Vi bor i en tvåa.The number used as a noun ends in -a.
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| gender | en (common), ett (neuter) | en bil, ett hus |
| definite singular | -en / -n, -et / -t | bilen, huset, äpplet |
| plural | -or, -ar, -er / -r, -n, none | flickor, bilar, parker, äpplen, hus |
| definite plural | -na, -a, -en | bilarna, äpplena, husen |
| genitive | -s, no apostrophe, no article after it | Annas bok |
| demonstratives | den här, det här, de här + definite form | den här bilen |
| numbers as nouns | -a, definite -n | en tvåa, femman |
Practise
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