{"id":6782,"date":"2014-10-09T10:22:42","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T10:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=6782"},"modified":"2014-10-09T10:22:42","modified_gmt":"2014-10-09T10:22:42","slug":"swedish-grammar-this-and-that-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/swedish-grammar-this-and-that-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Swedish Grammar: This and that, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tjena v\u00e4nner!<\/strong> In my previous post, I talked about one way to say “this” in Swedish: den h\u00e4r<\/em>. This post will talk about an alternative way to express “this”: denna<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As I explained in part one, when den h\u00e4r<\/em> is used before a noun, the noun has to be put in definite form:<\/p>\n

den h\u00e4r<\/span> stolen<\/span><\/em> \u2013 this<\/span> chair<\/p>\n

In other words, to say *den h\u00e4r stol<\/em> would be incorrect. However, you also have the option of using denna<\/em> to mean \u201cthis\u201d. Unlike den h\u00e4r<\/em>, denna<\/em> does not require the noun to be in definite form.<\/strong> In fact, it generally isn\u2019t used with the noun in definite form (except in certain parts of Sweden). In Standard Swedish, to say \u201cthis chair\u201d using denna<\/em>, you would say:<\/p>\n

denna<\/span> stol<\/em> \u2013 this<\/span> chair<\/p>\n

As you can see, I did not pot the noun in definite form. The form\u00a0denna<\/em> is used with nouns of common or “n-gender”.<\/strong> With nouns of neuter or “t-gender”, the form detta<\/em> is used<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

detta<\/span> piano<\/em> \u2013 this piano<\/p>\n

Makes sense, right? Denna<\/em> corresponds to den h\u00e4r<\/em> and detta<\/em> corresponds to det h\u00e4r<\/em>. Just like det h\u00e4r<\/em>, detta<\/em> can also be used to refer to a state of affairs.<\/strong> For example:<\/p>\n

Kalle tyckte inte om detta<\/span>, s\u00e5 han gick d\u00e4rifr\u00e5n.<\/em> \u2013 Kalle didn\u2019t like this<\/span>, so he walked away.<\/p>\n

Great! Moving on. For plural nouns, you say dessa<\/em><\/strong>, which corresponds to de h\u00e4r<\/em>:<\/p>\n

dessa<\/span> stolar<\/em> \u2013 these<\/span> chairs
\ndessa<\/span> pianon<\/em> \u2013 these<\/span> pianos<\/p>\n

As you can see, dessa<\/em> is used in plural regardless of the gender of the noun that follows it.<\/strong> Easy enough, right?<\/p>\n

Just like the three forms of den h\u00e4r<\/em>, denna<\/em>\u2013detta<\/em>\u2013dessa<\/em> can stand independently<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Han vill ge honom denna<\/span>.<\/em> \u2013 He wants to give this<\/span> to him.
\nVi m\u00e4rkte inte detta<\/span>.<\/em> \u2013 We didn\u2019t notice this<\/span>.
\nDessa<\/span> var ganska starka.<\/em> \u2013 These (ones)<\/span> were rather strong.<\/p>\n

Both versions of “this”, den h\u00e4r<\/em> and denna<\/em> (as well as their declined forms), are correct and accepted and can be used in all situations and contexts. However, den h\u00e4r<\/em> is typically seen as more colloquial and less formal than denna<\/em>. Even so, which one you choose to use is really a matter of personal taste.<\/p>\n

So, now you can say \u201cthis\u201d in two different ways in Swedish. Najs!<\/em> Now that I\u2019ve taken you through “this”, it\u2019s time to take you through “that”. Stay tuned for part 3!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tjena v\u00e4nner! In my previous post, I talked about one way to say “this” in Swedish: den h\u00e4r. This post will talk about an alternative way to express “this”: denna. As I explained in part one, when den h\u00e4r is used before a noun, the noun has to be put in definite form: den h\u00e4r…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6,3079],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6782","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","category-swedish-language"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t