Language/Swedish/Grammar/When-use-Ett-or-En
Hej everyone 😀!
In today's lesson, we will be exploring the proper use of "Ett" and "En" in the Swedish language. These two articles both translate to "a" in English, but it can be challenging to determine when to use which one. In this lesson, we will cover the grammatical rules and patterns that govern the use of "Ett" and "En" in Swedish. By the end of this lesson, you will have a solid understanding of how to use these articles correctly, which will help you communicate more effectively in Swedish.
- Other lessons: After mastering this topic, you might also be interested in learning about the Conditional Tense and Swedish Grammar - Time References. Please feel free to add to this page if you have any suggestions or additional information to share. We hope you enjoy this lesson and find it helpful in your language learning journey!
NOUN FORMS
DEFINITE FORM
When we want a noun to be in definite form we add a suffix to the noun; -en, -n or -et.
For example:
- Ett bord = Bordet
- En hund = Hunden
- Ett äpple = Äpplet
- En skola = Skolan
Here we just add -n since the word already ends with a vowel.
As you might have noticed, you can know which suffix to use by looking at the indefinite article.
- If it's an "En-word", the suffix is -en or -n.
- If it's an "Ett-word", the suffix is -et.
INDEFINITE FORM
In Swedish, we have two words to choose when we want to write about nouns in an indefinite form: En or Ett.
Examples:
- Ett bord = A table
- En hund = A dog
- Ett äpple = An apple
- En skola = A school
IS THERE A GRAMMATICAL RULE?
Native English speakers often make the following mistake:
- En (Swedish article) = An (English article)
- Ett (Swedish article) = A (English article)
⚠ This rule is wrong!
→ There is no grammatical rule to know when to use En or Ett, you just simply have to learn them.
GOOD NEWS: THERE ARE SOME GUIDELINES
Yes! There are some guidelines that can help you to predict the gender.
- Firstly, most human beings and animals are classified as "en" nouns, although there are some exceptions, such as "ett barn" (a child), "ett djur" (an animal), "ett bi" (a bee), and "ett lejon" (a lion).
- Secondly, there are certain noun endings that are more commonly associated with either "en" or "ett" genders. For example, nouns ending in -ad, -are, -dom, -else, -het, -ing, -ning, -ion, -ism, -lek, -nad, and -or are typically classified as "en" nouns. Meanwhile, nouns ending in -ande, -ende, -ek, -em, -iv, and -um are more likely to be "ett" nouns.
- Finally, there are some exceptions to these guidelines, such as the fact that names of continents, countries, provinces, and towns are typically classified as "ett" nouns. Additionally, days, months, and seasons are usually "en" nouns, although "ett dygn" (a day/24-hour period) is an exception.
By familiarizing yourself with these guidelines and practicing with Swedish language materials, you can improve your ability to correctly use "en" and "ett" in your speech and writing.
Examples of Nouns with En and Ett
- En bil (masculine): A car
- Ett hus (neuter): A house
- En bok (feminine): A book
- Ett barn (neuter): A child
- En hund (masculine): A dog
- Ett äpple (neuter): An apple
- En skola (feminine): A school
- Ett bibliotek (neuter): A library
- En stol (feminine): A chair
- Ett fönster (neuter): A window
- En cykel (masculine): A bicycle
- Ett träd (neuter): A tree
- En blomma (feminine): A flower
- Ett bord (neuter): A table
- En biljett (feminine): A ticket
- Ett kort (neuter): A card
- En dag (masculine): A day
- Ett år (neuter): A year
- En film (feminine): A movie
- Ett spel (neuter): A game
- En gata (feminine): A street
- Ett museum (neuter): A museum
- En kopp (feminine): A cup
- Ett husdjur (neuter): A pet
- En vän (feminine): A friend
Practice with this Dialogue
Here is a dialogue in Swedish with the use of "En" and "Ett" and its English translation:
Swedish Dialogue:
- Person 1: Hej! Har du en bok jag kan låna?
- Person 2: Ja, jag har ett par böcker som jag kan låna ut. Vilken typ av bok letar du efter?
- Person 1: En skönlitterär bok skulle vara bra. Vilken bok skulle du rekommendera?
- Person 2: Jag har en spännande thriller som jag tyckte var bra. Den heter "Ensam varg". Vill du låna den?
- Person 1: Ja, det låter perfekt. Tack så mycket! Har du en penna också? Jag behöver skriva några anteckningar.
- Person 2: Absolut, här är en penna. Men jag har bara ett bläckpatron kvar, så om du vill ha en till penna måste du köpa ett par nya bläckpatroner också.
- Person 1: Tack för varningen. En penna är allt jag behöver just nu. Tack för all hjälp!
- Person 2: Ingen orsak. Jag hoppas att du gillar boken och att pennan fungerar bra för dig.
English Translation:
- Person 1: Hi! Do you have a book I can borrow?
- Person 2: Yes, I have a couple of books I can lend out. What kind of book are you looking for?
- Person 1: A fiction book would be great. What book would you recommend?
- Person 2: I have an exciting thriller that I thought was good. It's called "Lone Wolf". Do you want to borrow it?
- Person 1: Yes, that sounds perfect. Thank you so much! Do you have a pen too? I need to write some notes.
- Person 2: Absolutely, here's a pen. But I only have one ink cartridge left, so if you want another pen, you'll need to buy a couple of new ink cartridges too.
- Person 1: Thanks for the warning. One pen is all I need right now. Thank you for all your help!
- Person 2: No problem. I hope you enjoy the book and that the pen works well for you.
Videos
Other Lessons
- Passive Voice
- How to Use Have
- How to Describe Someone's Appearance and Personality
- Negations
- Questions
- Imperative Tense
- How to express agreement
- Common Interjections
- Definite Articles in Swedish