Language/Swedish/Grammar/Comparison-of-adjectives

Swedish Grammar → Swedish Adjectives → Comparison of adjectives

As a Swedish language teacher, I find adjectives and their comparison one of the most interesting topics in the Swedish language. Adjectives describe people, animals, and things, and they help us communicate more precisely. In this lesson, we will learn how to compare adjectives in Swedish and form comparative and superlative forms.

Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: How to Express Feelings of Joy and Anger & Be Polite.

Basic comparison of adjectives

In Swedish, we can compare adjectives using the following structure:

• Comparative: mer + adjective (for example, "mer intressant" - more interesting)
• Superlative: mest + adjective (for example, "mest intressant" - most interesting)

Here are some examples of adjectives in the comparative and superlative forms:

Swedish	Comparative	Superlative	English
lång	längre	längst	long
stark	starkare	starkast	strong
hög	högre	högst	high
tidig	tidigare	tidigast	early

Note that adjectives with one syllable usually take the suffix "-are" for the comparative form and "-ast" for the superlative form. Adjectives with two or more syllables use "mer" and "mest" instead. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, so it is important to learn each adjective individually.

Here is a list of some common adjectives and their comparative and superlative forms:

Swedish	Comparative	Superlative	English
intressant	mer intressant	mest intressant	interesting
stor	större	störst	big
vacker	vackrare	vackrast	beautiful
hög	högre	högst	high
liten	mindre	minst	small
lång	längre	längst	long
snabb	snabbare	snabbast	fast/quick
god	bättre	bäst	good
dålig	sämre	sämst	bad
varm	varmare	varmast	warm
kall	kallare	kallast	cold

When comparing adjectives, it is important to pay attention to the context of the sentence to make sure that the comparative and superlative forms are used correctly.

Irregular comparison of adjectives

Like in many other languages, there are some adjectives in Swedish that do not follow the regular comparison pattern. Here are some examples:

Swedish	Comparative	Superlative	English
bra	bättre	bäst	good
många	fler	flest	many
liten	mindre	minst	small
ung	yngre	yngst	young
gammal	äldre	äldst	old
liten	mindre	minst	small

It is important to memorize these irregular forms and learn when to use them.

Exercises

To practice comparing adjectives in Swedish, try the following exercises:

1. Write five sentences using comparative adjectives.
2. Write five sentences using superlative adjectives.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we have learned how to compare adjectives in Swedish and form comparative and superlative forms. Remember to pay attention to context and learn irregular forms.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson! In the next lesson, we will focus on compound adjectives.

Sources

• Swedish Comparative and Superlative - How to compare adjectives ...
• Happy, Happier, Happiest – Comparing Adjectives in Swedish ...
• Swedish Grammar 101 | OptiLingo
• The LingQ Swedish Grammar Guide - Adjectives

Well done on mastering this lesson! Don't miss these related pages to expand your knowledge: Pronouns & Future tense.

Table of Contents - Swedish Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Swedish

• Greeting people
• Saying goodbye
• Asking for directions
• Going to a restaurant

  ---

Swedish Pronouns

• Personal pronouns
• Reflexive pronouns
• Demonstrative pronouns
• Possessive pronouns

  ---

Colors and Numbers

• Colors
• Numbers 0-20
• Numbers 20-100
• Numbers above 100

  ---

Swedish Culture

• Swedish customs
• Swedish food
• Swedish holidays
• Swedish geography

  ---

Swedish Verbs

• Present tense
• Past tense
• Future tense
• Verbs with prepositions

  ---

Body parts and health

• Body parts
• Symptoms and illnesses
• At the doctor's

  ---

Swedish Nouns

• Gender of nouns
• Definite and indefinite nouns
• Plural nouns

  ---

Travel and directions

• Means of transportation
• Booking a trip
• Giving directions

  ---

Sweden's history

• Vikings and Middle Ages
• Modern Sweden
• Swedish politics and society

  ---

Swedish Adjectives

• Basic adjectives
• Comparison of adjectives
• Compound adjectives

  ---

Jobs and professions

• Types of jobs
• Job applications and interviews
• Workplace Swedish

Other Lessons

• Location
• Time References
• Conditional Tense
• 0 to A1 Course
• Give your Opinion
• Passive Voice
• Adjectives
• Past Participle in Swedish
• When use Ett or En
• Demonstrative pronouns

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