Section 1 - Grammar Notes Flashcards
-en
Equivalent to a or an in English. The definite form is however very different from English and is contructed by adding an ending to a word: -en is added to en-words and -et is added to ett-words. So sked (spoon) becomes skeden (the spoon) and glas (glass) becomes glaset (the glass). If a word ends with a vowel, typically the “e” is dropped and just the end consonants “n” or “t” are added. There are however exceptions such as teet.
Where the en-word ends with -el, -en, -er and -ar, the “e” of the -en ending is dropped and only the consonant “n” is added. Hence spindel becomes spindeln and fågel becomes fågeln.
-ett
Equivalent to a or an in English. The definite form is however very different from English and is contructed by adding an ending to a word: -en is added to en-words and -et is added to ett-words. So sked (spoon) becomes skeden (the spoon) and glas (glass) becomes glaset (the glass). If a word ends with a vowel, typically the “e” is dropped and just the end consonants “n” or “t” are added. There are however exceptions such as teet.
-ska suffix
Indicates names of most languages (svenska, engelska). Language names are not capitalized. Country names are capitalized.
POSSESSIVES
Each possessive pronoun has a different form depending on whether it is an en word, ett word, or a plural noun. For example: if the subject is jag, the word (my) is either min, mitt, or mina if the noun is en, ett, or plural.
Not all of the possessive pronouns have three forms; some only have one. For example: if the subject is det (it), the pronoun is always dess regardless of whether the item is en, ett, or plural.
To say “it is the __’s apple” all you have to do is add an s onto the end of the definite form (for example: the cat = katten). Det är kattens äpple.
IT
There are two words for it in Swedish: den and det (for -en words and -ett words respectively). They can also mean ‘the’ - for example, in den lila blomman (the purple flower), den is used before an adjective describing the flower.
