The Specific Things, and Possession

Once you know a noun's plural, Swedish can also say "the cars", "the houses", and "Anna's car."

If plural formation is not yet familiar, review Talking About Several Things first.

How do you mark that plural things are specific?

If the plural form already has an ending such as -or, -ar, or -er, the definite plural often adds -na.

If an ett noun has zero plural, the definite plural often adds -en.

If an ett noun has plural -en, the definite plural often adds -a.

The first sentence could mean any cars. The second points to known cars.

Swedish possession often uses a surface -s:

This is a spelling layer. It does not mean every phrase has the same word order as English, but the single-token form normally ends in s.

Do not add another visible s after a name or noun that already ends in an s-like spelling.

Ordinary Swedish normally does not use the English-style apostrophe in these forms. An apostrophe may appear exceptionally to prevent ambiguity, but the clearer everyday alternative is often to rephrase: