Swedish adjective endings: stor, stort, stora
How Swedish adjectives agree with en words, ett words and plurals, what happens after den and det, and the small list of rebels like liten and bra.
A Swedish adjective changes its ending to match the noun it describes. One adjective, three forms: en stor bil, ett stort hus, stora bilar. If you've been putting off the en/ett distinction, this is the topic that collects the debt: the gender of every noun you know now shows up on every adjective you use.
The three forms
The recipe: the dictionary form works for en words, add -t for ett words, add -a for plurals. The same agreement applies when the adjective comes after är:
- Bilen är stor. The car is big.
- Huset är stort. The house is big.
- Bilarna är stora. The cars are big.
This also finally explains phrases you've been using whole since day one: Vad fint! and Det är kallt carry the -t because det is neuter.
The definite pattern: den stora bilen
When a definite noun takes an adjective, Swedish does something maximalist: it marks definiteness three times. A little word in front (den, det or de), the adjective in its -a form, and the noun still wearing its definite ending:
- den stora bilen = the big car
- det stora huset = the big house
- de stora bilarna = the big cars
Grammars call it double definiteness; learners call it overkill; either way it's mandatory. The practical rule is simpler than the name: in front of a noun, after den/det/de (and after possessives like min), the adjective ends in -a.
The rebels
A handful of very common adjectives bend the rules, and they're frequent enough to learn as words:
- liten (small): en liten bil, ett litet hus, but the plural is a different word entirely: små bilar. And in the definite: den lilla bilen.
- gammal (old): ett gammalt hus, but the plural squeezes to gamla (not "gammala").
- ny (new): the -t doubles after a long vowel: ett nytt jobb. Same for blå (blue): ett blått hav.
- bra (good): refuses to change at all. En bra bok, ett bra jobb, bra idéer. A small mercy.
How to practise it
Don't drill the table in the abstract. Pick real things around you and describe them in pairs: en varm kopp, ett varmt te. The agreement has to become a reflex of the ear, and it does, faster than you'd expect, because you hear it in every Swedish sentence with an adjective in it.
Hear the agreement
Five sentences across all the forms.
Swedish
Jag har en ny telefon.
Vi bor i ett gammalt hus.
Hon köpte nya skor i går.
Den röda stugan är fin.
Små barn sover mycket.
English
I have a new phone.
We live in an old house.
She bought new shoes yesterday.
The red cottage is lovely.
Small children sleep a lot.