A1 · Débutant Chapitre 7

En or Ett? The Gender Mystery

4 Règles totales
48 exemples
1 min
Règles dans ce chapitre Pratique rapide

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Unlock the rhythm of Swedish nouns by mastering the en/ett gender system and definite endings.

  • Identify the difference between 'en' and 'ett' nouns.
  • Transform indefinite nouns into their definite forms using suffixes.
  • Choose correctly between definite and indefinite forms in context.
Stop guessing and start knowing your en and ett.

Ce que tu vas apprendre

Deep dive into Swedish noun genders and the definite article system. Students will learn how to determine and apply en-words and ett-words.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: correctly attach the definite suffix to any regular en or ett noun.
  2. 2
    By the end you will be able to: predict the gender of common Swedish nouns with 80% accuracy based on patterns.
  3. 3
    By the end you will be able to: introduce a new object and refer back to it using the correct definite form.

Exemples clés (8)

1

Bilen är här.

The car is here.

Definite Articles (Bestämd form)
2

Huset är stort.

The house is big.

Definite Articles (Bestämd form)
3

Jag har en bil.

I have a car.

Noun Gender Rules
4

Det är ett hus.

It is a house.

Noun Gender Rules
5

Jag har en bil.

I have a car.

Definite vs Indefinite
6

Bilen är röd.

The car is red.

Definite vs Indefinite
7

En bil.

A car.

Noun Declension
8

Bilen är röd.

The car is red.

Noun Declension

Conseils et astuces (4)

💡

Learn the gender

Always learn a noun with its 'en' or 'ett' article. It saves you so much time later.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Definite Articles (Bestämd form)
💡

Learn in pairs

Always learn the noun with its article. Don't learn 'bil', learn 'en bil'.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Gender Rules
💡

Learn the gender

Always learn the noun with its article. It saves time later.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Definite vs Indefinite
💡

Learn the article

Always learn the noun with its article (en/ett). It saves time later.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Declension

Vocabulaire clé (6)

en hund a dog ett hus a house en bil a car ett äpple an apple en bok a book ett bord a table

Real-World Preview

coffee

At the Café

Review Summary

  • Noun + -(e)n/-(e)t
  • 80% En / 20% Ett

Erreurs courantes

Beginners often try to use 'den' or 'det' as 'the' before the noun. In Swedish, 'the' is the suffix -en or -et attached directly to the noun.

Wrong: Den hund är glad.
Correct: Hunden är glad.

Using 'ett' for an 'en' word. Since 80% of words are 'en', guessing 'en' is safer, but 'bil' is a standard 'en' word.

Wrong: Jag ser ett bil.
Correct: Jag ser en bil.

When a noun ends in a vowel, you don't add the full 'en' or 'et'. You just add 'n' or 't'.

Wrong: Äppleen är rött.
Correct: Äpplet är rött.

Next Steps

You've just conquered the most iconic part of Swedish grammar. The en/ett system is your passport to sounding like a local. Keep practicing those endings!

Label your house

Listen to a Swedish kids' story

Continue to: Asking for Information

Pratique rapide (10)

Choose the correct definite form.

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Huset
Huset is the correct form.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Definite Articles (Bestämd form)

Fill in the blank.

___ hus

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ett
Hus is an ett-word.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Gender Rules

Correct the adjective.

Find and fix the mistake:

En stort bil

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: En stor bil
En-words don't add -t.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Gender Rules

Choose the correct gender.

___ hus

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ett
Hus is an ett-word.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Declension

Choose the correct article.

___ bil.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Bil is an en-word.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Definite vs Indefinite

Add the correct definite suffix.

Bil + ___ = Bilen

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: -en
En-word takes -en.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Declension

Fill in the correct definite suffix.

Bil + ___ = Bilen

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: -en
Bil is an en-word.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Definite Articles (Bestämd form)

Find the mistake.

Find and fix the mistake:

En bilen är röd.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Remove 'en'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Definite vs Indefinite

Fix the mistake.

Find and fix the mistake:

Den bil

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Bilen
Use suffix for definite.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Declension

Correct the error.

Find and fix the mistake:

Ett bil

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: En bil
Bil is an en-word.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Noun Gender Rules

Score: /10

Questions fréquentes (6)

It's a historical feature of North Germanic languages that makes the language more efficient.
You have to memorize the gender when you learn the noun.
Swedish evolved from Old Norse, which had three. Over time, they merged into two.
No, there is no universal rule. You must memorize it.
There is no simple rule. You must memorize it.
No, never use 'en' and '-en' together.
Chapitre précédent
The Present Tense
Chapitre suivant
Asking for Information
Retour à la feuille de route