Adjectives
Adjectives, like nouns, have different forms depending on whether they are en-words, ett-words, plural, definite or indefinite. The good news is that the definite and plural forms are the same.
Indefinite
The basic rule is that adjectives that go with en-words, do not add any suffix; adjectives that go with ett-words, add -t in the end; adjectives in plural, add -a in the end.
| en- | ett- | Plural |
| fin blomma (nice flower) | fint hus (nice house) | fina skor(nice shoes) |
| stor blomma (big flower) | stort hus (big house) | stora skor (big shoes) |
| rolig dag (fun day) | roligt ord (funny word) | roliga kläder (funny clothes) |
| snäll flicka (kind girl) | snällt barn (kind child) | snälla människor (kind people) |
There are a few other patterns to note:
| Singular | Plural | ||
| en- | ett- | ||
| Adjectives ending in a vowel | ny (new) | nytt | nya |
| Adjectives ending in a consonant + -d | berömd (famous) | berömt | berömda |
| Adjectives ending in -a + -d | frustrerad(frustrated) | frustrerat | fustrerade |
| Adjectives ending in a consonant + -t | intressant (interesting) | intressant | intressanta |
| Adjectives ending in a vowel + -d | röd (red) | rött | röda |
| Adjectives ending in -en | vaken (awake) | vaket | vakna |
| Adjectives ending in -er, -el | vacker (beautifull) enkel (simple) | vackert enkelt | vackra enkla |
| Adjectives ending in -dd | högljudd (noisy) | högljutt | högljudda |
| Adjectives ending in vowel + -m | dum (stupid) | dumt | dumma |
| Adjectives ending in vowel + -nn | tunn (thin) | tunt | tunna |
Some adjectives do not change their form: bra (good), gratis (free), fel (wrong) + adjectives ending in -ande, -ende: talande:> (significant), förstående (understanding).
Note: The adjective liten (small) is irregular: en liten flicka (a small girl), ett litet barn (a small child), två små flickor (two small girls).
Definite
The definite form of the adjective ends in -a: dyra: (expensive), fina (nice).
When the noun is in definite form and is preceded by an adjective in definite form there must also be den, det, de before the adjective:
- den dyra boken - the expensive book
- det fina hus - the nice house
- • de snälla människor - the kind people
After min, din etc. (=possessive pronoun), Nathalies (= genitive noun), samma (the same), nästa (next), the noun must be in its indefinite form:
min dyra bok (my expensive book); samma dyra bok (same expensive book); nästa nya film (next new movie)
Comparatives and Superlatives
The easiest way to form comparatives and superlatives in Swedish is to add -are (comparative) and -ast/-aste (superlative indefinite/definite) to the plural form of the adjective.
fin (nice)- finare - finast
snäll (kind)- snällare - snällast
varm (warm)- varmare - varmast
The definite form of superlative adds the suffix -aste instead of -ast:
den vackraste flickan (the most beautiful girl)
det starkaste barn (the strongest child)
Adjectives ending in -isk and adjectives in participles use mer(a) and mest:
typisk (typical) - mer typisk (more typical) - mest typisk (most typical)
energisk (energetic) - mer energisk - mest energisk
irriterad (irritated) - mer irriterad - mest irriterad
Irregulars
Some of the common irregular forms:
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| stor (big) | större | störst |
| liten (small) | mindre | minst |
| gammal (old) | äldre | äldst |
| ung (young) | yngre | yngst |
| hög (high) | högre | högst |
| låg (low) | lägre | lägst |
| lång (long) | längre | längst |
| bra (good) | bättre | bäst |
| dålig (bad) | sämre | sämst |
| dålig (bad) | värre | värst |
| mycket (much) | mer/mera | mest |
| många (many) | fler | flest |