Compared to most countries, Sweden is very small, at least in terms of population. Despite that, from the greatly dominant forests of this land have come numerous inventions and developments: from dynamite and the pacemaker to ABBA and IKEA. Several famous scientists that have contributed immensely to the world of science also come from Sweden; for example, Carl von Linn\u00e9 (Carl Linnaeus), Anders Celsius, and Anders \u00c5ngstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n
So now the question is this: Is Sweden really such a small country? I guess that’s for everyone to decided for her-\/himself. But whether it is or not, if you’re going to live in this outstandingly progressive country, you need to know how to say ‘large’ and ‘small’ in Swedish, and how to use these words properly.<\/p>\n
The Swedish word for ‘large’ is stor<\/em>. It is an adjective that is conjugated as follows:<\/p>\n En stor<\/strong> hund<\/em> – A large<\/strong> dog As you can see, in singular (one<\/span> large dog or one<\/span> large house),\u00a0 stor<\/em> can be conjugated in three ways: stor<\/em>, stort<\/em>, and stora<\/em>. Which conjugation you choose depends on these factors:<\/p>\n Gender (utrum [en<\/em> words] and neutrum [ett<\/em> words]) Adjectives that describe utrum nouns and ones that describe neutrum nouns are conjugated differently in singular indefinite:<\/p>\n En stor<\/strong> hund<\/em> – A large<\/strong> dog (utrum, singular, indefinite) but the same in plural indefinite:<\/p>\n Flera stora<\/strong> hundar<\/em> – Several large<\/strong> dogs (utrum, plural, indefinite) They are also conjugated the same in both singular and plural definite form in 99.\u221e% of cases:<\/p>\n Den stora<\/strong> hunden<\/em> – The large<\/strong> dog (utrum, singular, definite) As you can see, the only time that adjectives are<\/span> conjugated differently depending on the gender of the noun they describe is in singular indefinite form. Otherwise, stor<\/em> is always conjugated stora<\/em>.<\/p>\n In the case of liten<\/em> (‘small’), however, things are different. It is the only common adjective that has truly special conjugations. I will use the same examples, in the same order, to show why liten<\/em> is so special:<\/p>\n En liten<\/strong> hund<\/em> – A small<\/strong> dog (utrum, singular, indefinite) Unlike the remaining 99.\u221e% of adjectives, liten<\/em> has a special conjugation for the singular definite form that differs from the plural definite and indefinite forms, namely lilla<\/em>. This is a very important for people who are learning Swedish as a second or foreign language; first, you think that the plural definite form should take on the conjugation of the singular definite form, but then it feels weird not using the plural sm\u00e5<\/em>. Then you feel that sm\u00e5<\/em> doesn’t sound definite and the correct conjugation is lilla<\/em>. Or at least that’s how it was for me. But now it’s clear to everyone that all plural conjugations of liten<\/em> are sm\u00e5<\/em>.<\/p>\n This may seem complicated, but don’t let it discourage you! This kind of thing is easy to master with just a little practice. As I’ve suggested before, try keeping a journal or blog and practice writing sentences and phrases, keeping an eye on your grammar. The more you do it, the less you’ll have to think about it, and suddenly it’s very easy. Good luck! \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Compared to most countries, Sweden is very small, at least in terms of population. Despite that, from the greatly dominant forests of this land have come numerous inventions and developments: from dynamite and the pacemaker to ABBA and IKEA. Several famous scientists that have contributed immensely to the world of science also come from Sweden…<\/p>\n
\nEtt stort<\/strong> hus<\/em> – A large<\/strong> house
\nFlera stora<\/strong> hundar<\/em> – Several large<\/strong> dogs
\nFlera stora<\/strong> hus<\/em> – Several large<\/strong> houses
\nDen stora<\/strong> hunden<\/em> – The large<\/strong> dog
\nDet stora<\/strong> huset<\/em> – The large<\/strong> house
\nDe stora<\/strong> hundarna<\/em> – The large<\/strong> dogs
\nDe stora<\/strong> husen<\/em> – The large<\/strong> houses<\/p>\n
\nNumber (one or more than one)<\/p>\n
\nEtt stort<\/strong> hus<\/em> – A large<\/strong> house (neutrum, singular, indefinite)<\/p>\n
\nFlera stora<\/strong> hus<\/em> – Several large<\/strong> houses (neutrum, plural, indefinite)<\/p>\n
\nDet stora<\/strong> huset<\/em> – The large<\/strong> house (neutrum, singular, definite)
\nDe stora<\/strong> hundarna<\/em> – The large<\/strong> dogs (utrum, plural, definite)
\nDe stora<\/strong> husen<\/em> – The large<\/strong> houses (neutrum, plural, definite)<\/p>\n
\nEtt litet<\/strong> hus<\/em> – A small<\/strong> house (neutrum, singular, indefinite)
\nFlera sm\u00e5<\/strong> hundar<\/em> – Several small<\/strong> dogs (utrum, plural, indefinite)
\nFlera sm\u00e5<\/strong> hus<\/em> – Several small<\/strong> houses (neutrum, plural, indefinite)
\nDen lilla<\/strong> hunden<\/em> – The small<\/strong> dog (utrum, singular, definite)
\nDet lilla<\/strong> huset<\/em> – The small<\/strong> house (neutrum, singular, definite)
\nDe sm\u00e5<\/strong><\/span> hundarna<\/em> – The small<\/strong> dogs (utrum, plural, definite)
\nDe sm\u00e5<\/strong><\/span> husen<\/em> – The small<\/strong> houses (neutrum, plural, definite)<\/p>\n