Chapter 8 · Words That Change (Inflection)

Adjectives

Why does stor become stort or stora?

3 min readUpdated 2026-08-11

Swedish adjectives agree with their noun. stor has three main forms, depending on the noun's gender, number, and definiteness.

a big car

a big house

big cars

the big car

Swedish adjectives often agree with the noun. Ask two questions:

Is the noun an en noun or an ett noun?
Is the noun plural or definite?

The Three Forms

Every use of an adjective picks one of three forms. The rest of the chapter builds on these:

1
ensingular nounbase form
en stor bilen fin väg
2
ettsingular noun-t
stor -> stortett stort hus
3
plural or definite-a
stor -> storaden stora bilen

Building the `-t` Form

Many adjectives simply add -t with ett nouns (rule 2):

storstort

finfint

svensksvenskt

Some spelling adjustments are common:

sannsant

nynytt

öppenöppet

vackervackert

trötttrött

vitvitt

Double Definiteness: `den stora bilen`

When a definite noun has an adjective before it, standard Swedish normally marks definiteness twice:

den + stora + bilen
det + stora + huset
de  + stora + bilarna

The first word marks gender or number, the adjective takes its definite -a form, and the noun keeps its definite ending.

the red car

the old house

the new books

This is called double definiteness. Do not copy English and leave the noun indefinite:

Not this

Use this

With no adjective, the noun ending is normally enough: bilen means "the car." The phrase den bilen has a pointing contrast closer to "that car."

Agreement After `är`: The Predicative Position

The adjective also agrees when it stands after verbs like är or blir, not only in front of the noun:

The car is big.

The house is big.

The cars are big.

The same two questions apply: gender first, then number. Note that after är, a definite subject still takes the plain -t/base/-a agreement, not an extra definite marking.

Building the `-a` Form

Many adjectives use an -a form for both plural and definite (rule 3):

storstora

finfina

svensksvenska

Some adjust the stem:

enkelenkla

vackervackra

öppenöppna

ensamensamma

gammalgamla

What can go wrong

The three endings are reliable; the words that break them cluster in a small set of high-frequency adjectives. -t can reshape the stem (röd -> rött, not rödt), a few adjectives never change at all (bra, rosa), and liten swaps to a different word in the plural. Store these with the adjective.

#	Rule	Examples	Exceptions
1	ensingular nounbase form	`en stor bilen fin väg`
2	ettsingular noun-t	`fin -> fintsvensk -> svenskt`	`röd -> röttglad -> glatträdd -> rädd`
3	plural or definite-a	`fin -> finany -> nya`	`liten -> småbra -> bravacker -> vackra`

The Optional Masculine `-e`

In formal or written Swedish, adjectives can sometimes take -e with a male person or masculine reference:

den gamle mannen
den store kungen
min käre far

This is not the default definite form. The default learner form is still:

den gamla kvinnan
det gamla huset
de gamla männen

Learn masculine -e as an optional style/register form.

Chapter summary

Noun context	Adjective form	Example
common singular indefinite	base	`en stor bil`
neuter singular indefinite	often `-t`	`ett stort hus`
plural	often `-a`	`stora bilar`
after `är/blir` (predicative)	same gender/number agreement	`Huset är stort.`
definite with adjective	`den/det/de` + `-a` + definite noun	`den stora bilen`
male person, marked style	optional `-e`	`den gamle mannen`

Practice

Study check

7 questions

1
en ___ bil (stor)
Your answer
2
ett ___ hus (stor)
Your answer
3
___ bilar (stor)
Your answer
4
den ___ bilen (stor)
Your answer
5
ett ___ äpple (röd)
Your answer
6
de ___ husen (gammal)
Your answer
7
Build "the open door" from öppen + dörr.
Your answer

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The Three Forms

Building the -t Form

Double Definiteness: den stora bilen

Agreement After är: The Predicative Position

Building the -a Form

The Optional Masculine -e