ADJECTIVES

In English, adjectives never change their form. In Swedish however, they change all
the timein fact, they have to! Just like German, Spanish or French, adjectives in
Swedish have to agree with the noun they modify.
This means, that Swedish adjectives have different forms depending on whether
the noun is definite or indefinite, whether its singular or plural, and whether its
an en or anett word.

Indefinite forms
When an adjective is used with an indefinite noun, such as en fisk or ett hus, it
changes according to the form of the noun it modifies.
For singular en-words, the suffix is - (i.e. nothing at all), meaning the adjective is
identical to the basic form:
en stor fisk, en gul bil, en snll hund.
For singular ett-words, the suffix -t is added to the basic form:
ett stort hus, ett gult bord, ett snllt meddelande.
For plural words, the ending is always -a, regardless of the gender of the word:
stora fiskar/hus, gula bilar/bord, snlla hundar/meddelanden.

Singular en

Singular ett

Plural en/ett

-t

-a

stor

stort

stora

gul

gult

gula

snll

snllt

snlla

Definite forms
If the noun is definite, the adjective takes the ending -a in all cases, no matter
gender or number. Whats important to note, however, is that whenever a definite
noun is used together with an adjective, an article is placed in front of the adjective.
This article is denfor singular en-words, det for singular ett-words, and de for plural
words (note that de is pronounced as dom).
en stor fisk den stora fisken
ett gult bord det gula bordet
snlla hundar de snlla hundarna

This article is mandatorythe only time it isnt used is in proper names and
epithets:Svarta Havet the Black Sea, Rda Torget the Red Square, Vita
Huset the White House.
The definite form of the adjective is also used with possessives, even though the
noun itself is not definite:
min fisk min stora fisk
ditt bord ditt gula bord
Eriks hundar Eriks snlla hundar
In addition to the definite -a form, there is also a definite form ending in -e. This
form is used in the singular when the noun being referred to is male (and would be
referred to as han as opposed to den):
den store mannen, den nye ministern, den kloke pappan.
It is common in epithets referring to men:
Lille Prinsen the Little Prince, Alexander den Store Alexander the Great.
It should be noted that this masculine form is optional in the written language, and
usually absent in colloquial Swedish, the exception being in names and titles such
as those mentioned above.

Singular en

Singular ett

Plural en/ett

(den) -a

(det) -a

(de) -a

(den) stora

(det) stora

(de) stora

(den) gula

(det) gula

(de) gula

(den) snlla

(det) snlla

(de) snlla

Alternative patterns
There are a number of adjectives not conforming to the pattern described above.
Some of these are irregular, but most of them can be grouped together in the
patterns shown below.

Singular en

Singular ett

Plural/Definite

egen, ppen

eget, ppet

egna, ppna

fri, ny

fritt, nytt

fria, nya

rd, glad

rtt, glatt

rda, glada

Singular en

Singular ett

Plural/Definite

hrd, stngd

hrt, stngt

hrda, stngda

skalad, lskad

skalat, lskat

skalade, lskade

trtt, rtt

trtt, rtt

trtta, rtta

tyst, exakt

tyst, exakt

tysta, exakta

sann, tunn

sant, tunt

sanna, tunna

dum, lngsam (short vowel)

dumt, lngsamt

dumma, lngsamma

enkel, vacker

enkelt, vackert

enkla, vackra

Irregular adjectives
Some adjectives simply do not change at all, just like in English. These generally
end in -s, -e or -a:
en bra film, ett bra hus, bra personer
den bra filmen, det bra huset, de bra personerna
en frmmande film, ett frmmande hus, frmmande personer
den frmmande filmen, det frmmande huset, de frmmande personerna
A couple of adjectives have irregular forms:
en liten pojke, ett litet hus, sm katter
den lille/lilla pojken, det lilla huset, de sm katterna
en gammal man, ett gammalt hus, gamla katter
den gamle/gamla mannen, det gamla huset, de gamla katterna