SVD nyelv gyakorl 1-20

Swedish I

7. To Be and to Have

14. Directions

1. Basic Phrases

8. Useful Words

15. Colors

2. Pronunciation

9. Question Words

16. Time

3. Alphabet

10. Cardinal & Ordinal

Numbers

17. Weather

4. Nouns and Cases

18. Family
11. Days of the Week

5. Articles and
Demonstratives
6. Subject & Object
Pronouns

12. Months of the Year

13. Seasons

19. To Know People and

Facts
20. Formation of Plural
Nouns

http://www.ielanguages.com/swedish.html
http://www.ielanguages.com/swedish1.html

Swedish I Tutorial:
Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and
Grammar

Thanks to Krystallia for the mp3s! Don't forget to check out the Foreign Service Institute
Swedish Course and Swedish Listening Resources, where you will find authentic and
spontaneous Swedish recordings with transcripts and English translations.

1. Basic Phrases
NEW! If you'd like to study these phrases (and their pronunciations) individually, please go to
Basic Swedish Phrases.
1

God morgon
Hej / God dag
Good Morning
Hello / Good Day
God kvll
God natt
Good Evening
Good Night
Hej d / Adj (more formal)
Snlla
Goodbye
Please
Tack (s mycket)
Ingen orsak / Varsgod
Thank you (very much)
Don't mention it / You're welcome
Ja / Nej
Herr / Fru / Frken
Yes / No
Mister / Misses / Miss
Hur r det? / Hur har du det?
Hur mr du?
How are you?
How are you? (How are you feeling?)
Bra
Inte s bra.
Good / Fine
Not so good
Vad heter du?
Jag heter...
What's your name?
I am called...
Mitt namn r...
Trevligt att trffas!
My name is...
Pleased to meet you!
Vlkommen!
Welcome!
Varifrn kommer du?
Jag kommer frn...
Where are you from?
I'm from...
Var bor du?
Jag bor i...
Where do you live?
I live in...
Hur gammal r du?
Jag r ___ r (gammal).
How old are you?
I am ____ years old.
Talar du svenska?
Jag talar [inte] engelska.
Do you speak Swedish?
I [don't] speak English.
danska, norska, franska, italienska, spanska, tyska, hollndska, ryska, japanska
Danish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Russian, Japanese
Ja, lite grann.
Nej, inte alls.
Yes, a little bit.
No, not at all.
Jag frstr [inte.]
Jag vet [inte.]
I [don't] understand.
I [don't] know.
Urskta / Frlt
Ha det s bra!
Excuse me / Pardon me
Take care!
Vi ses senare / snart
Hej / Hej d
See you later / soon
Hi / Bye
Jag lskar dig.
Jag saknar dig.
I love you.
I miss you.
Pratar du svenska? is also a common way to ask Do you speak Swedish?, though it is
considered more informal.

2. Pronunciation
2

Swedish
letter(s)
ch
ck

English sound
sh
k
g before a, o, u, , or unstressed
e
j before e, i, y, , and after l or
r
k before t
j
soft ch sound, before e, i, y, ,
k
sh
sh
soft ch sound
v
ks
s

g
g
g
gj
k
q
sch
ti(on)
tj
v, w
x
z

3. Alphabet
a ah

b bay l
c say

kaw u ooh
el

m em

v vay
x eks

d day n

en

y ew

e ay

oh

z say-tah

pay

ef

aw (with lips
rounded)

g gay q

koo eh (as in bed)

h haw r

air

ee

ess

yee

tay

er (with lips
rounded)

4. Nouns & Cases

Nouns in Swedish have two genders, common and neuter, which adjectives must agree with
when modifying nouns. These genders are signified by the indefinite articles: en and ett. In
the vocabulary lists, a noun followed by (n) means that it is a neuter noun and it takes the
indefinite article ett. The majority of nouns in Swedish are common gender, so they take the
indefinite article en.

The only case of nouns that is used in Swedish is the genitive (showing possession), and it is
easily formed by adding an -s to the noun. This is comparable to adding -'s in English to show
possession. However, if the noun already ends in -s, then you add nothing (unlike English
where we add -' or -'s). Anders bok = Anders's book

5. Articles & Demonstratives

There are two indefinite articles (corresponding to a and an) in Swedish: en and ett. En is
used with most of the nouns (words denoting people almost always use en), but you will just
have to learn which article goes with which noun. The definite article (the) is not a separate
word like in most other languages. It is simply a form of the indefinite article attached to the
end of the noun. Note that en words ending in a vowel retain that vowel and add an -n instead
of adding -en. And ett words ending in -e just add a -t.
En words (common)
Ett words (neuter)
Indefinite
Definite
Indefinite
Definite
en banan a banana bananen the banana ett bord a table bordet the table
a
en stol a chair stolen
the chair ett kk
kket the kitchen
kitchen
ett
en gata a street gatan
the street
an apple pplet the apple
pple

This, that, these and those are expressed in Swedish by using den, det or de plus the word
hr (here) and dr (there). The noun is always in the definite form after these demonstratives.
And if any adjectives follow the demonstrative, they must add an -a to the ending.

this /
these
that /
those

with en words
den hr biljetten - this
ticket
den dr biljetten - that
ticket

with ett words

with plural words

de hr biljetterna - these
det hr tget - this train
tickets
det dr tget - that train de dr tgen - those trains

6. Subject & Object Pronouns

Subject & Object Pronouns
jag

mig (mej)

me

du

you (singular)

dig (dej)

you

han

he

honom

him

hon

she

henne

her

den

it (with en words)

den

it

det

it (with ett words)

det

it

man

one

en

one

vi

we

oss

us

ni

you (plural)

er

you

de (dom)

they

dem (dom)

them

Man can be translated as one, we, they or the people in general. When referring to nouns as
it, you use den for en nouns, and det for ett nouns. Formerly, du was the informal you and ni
was the formal, but these distinctions are rarely used anymore. The forms in parentheses are
the informal ways of spelling these words, which is closer to the actual pronunciation.

7. To Be & to Have
The present and past tenses of verbs in Swedish are very simple to conjugate. All the forms
are the same for each personal pronoun. The infinitive of the verb to be in Swedish is vara,
and the conjugated present tense form is r and the past tense is var. The infinitive of the verb
to have is ha, and the conjugated present tense form is har and the past tense is hade.

I am
you are
he is
she is
it is
it is
one is
we are
you are
they are

att vara - to be
jag r I was
du r
you were
han r he was
hon r she was
den r it was
det r it was
man r one was
vi r
we were
ni r
you were
de r
they were

att ha - to have
jag var I have
jag har I had
du var
you have du har you had
han var he has
han har he had
hon var she has
hon har she had
den var it has
den har it had
det var it has
det har it had
man var one has
man har one had
vi var
we have vi har
we had
ni var
you have ni har
you had
de var
they have de har
they had

jag hade
du hade
han hade
hon hade
den hade
det hade
man hade
vi hade
ni hade
de hade

To form the future tense of verbs, just add ska before the infinitive. Jag ska vara = I will be;
hon ska ha = she will have; etc.

8. Useful Words
sometimes
always
never
often
usually
now
and

ibland
alltid
aldrig
ofta
oftast
nu
och

already
perhaps
both
some
again
between
a lot, many
5

redan
kanske
bda
ngon, ngot, ngra
igen, ter
mellan
mnga

but
or
very
here
there
with
each other

men
eller
mycket / vldigt
hr
dr
med
varandra

of course
a little
not at all
almost
really?
it is
there is/are

naturligtvis
lite grann
inte alls
nstan
verkligen
det r
det finns

9. Question Words
Who
What
Why
When
Where

vem
vad
varfr
nr
var

Whose
Which
Where to
Where from
How

vems
vilken, vilket, vilka
vart
varifrn
hur

Which has three different forms depending on the gender and number of the noun that follows
it.
Vilken is used with en words, vilket is used with ett words and vilka is used with plural
words.

10. Cardinal & Ordinal Numbers

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

noll
en, ett
tv
tre
fyra
fem
sex
sju
tta
nio
tio
elva
tolv
tretton
fjorton
femton
sexton
sjutton
arton
nitton

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
6

frsta
andra
tredje
fjrde
femte
sjtte
sjunde
ttonde
nionde
tionde
elfte
tolfte
trettonde
fjortonde
femtonde
sextonde
sjuttonde
artonde
nittonde

20
21
22
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1,000
million
billion
trillion

tjugo
tjugoen, tjugoett
tjugotv
trettio
fyrtio
femtio
sextio
sjuttio
ttio
nittio
hundra
tusen
en miljon
en miljard
en biljon

20th
21st
22nd
30th
40th
50th
60th
70th
80th
90th
100th
1,000th

tjugonde
tjugofrsta
tjugoandra
trettionde
fyrtionde
femtionde
sextionde
sjuttionde
ttionde
nittionde
hundrade
tusende

11. Days of the Week / Veckans dagar

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
day
morning
afternoon
evening
night
today
tomorrow
day after tomorrow
tonight
yesterday
day before yesterday
last night
week
weekend
daily
weekly

mndag
tisdag
onsdag
torsdag
fredag
lrdag
sndag
dag
morgon
eftermiddag
afton (before 6 pm) / kvll
natt
idag
imorgon
i vermorgon
ikvll
igr
i frrgr
igr natt
vecka
helg
daglig
veckolig

To say "on" a certain day, use p before the day.

12. Months of the Year / rets mAnader

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
month
year
monthly
yearly

januari
februari
mars
april
maj
juni
juli
augusti
september
oktober
november
december
mnad
r
mnatlig / varje mnad
rlig

To say "in" a certain month, use i before the month.

13. Seasons
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall

vinter
vr
sommar
hst

in (the) winter
in (the) spring
in (the) summer
in (the) fall

p vintern
p vren
p sommaren
p hsten

You can also use i before the names of the seasons to express this: i vinter = this winter

14. Directions
North
South
East
West

norr
sder
ster
vster

left
right
straight ahead

till vnster
till hger
rakt fram

Northeast
Northwest
Southeast
Southwest

nordost
nordvst
sydost
sydvst

15. Colors
orange
pink
purple
blue
yellow
red
black
brown
gray
white
green

orange, orangea
rosa / skr, skrt, skra
lila
bl, bltt, bla
gul, gult, gula
rd, rtt, rda
svart, svart, svarta
brun, brunt, bruna
gr, grtt, gra
vit, vitt, vita
grn, grnt, grna

Since colors are adjectives, most of them agree with the noun they describe. The first word is
used with en words, the second with ett words and the third with plural words. Some words
remain the same for all three (such as lila.)

16. Time / Tid

What time is it?
It is 2 AM
6:20
half past 3
quarter past 4
quarter to 5
10 past 11
20 to 7
noon
midnight
in the morning
in the evening
It's exactly...
About/around 8.
At 8.
early
late(r)

Vad r klockan?
Klockan r tv p natten
tjugo ver sex
halv fyra
kvart ver fyra
kvart i fem
tio ver elva
tjugo i sju
mitt p dagen
midnatt
p morgonen
p kvllen
den r precis
omkring tta
klockan tta
tidigt
sent (senare)

Sweden uses the 24 hour clock for official times such as train schedules.

17. Weather / VAder

9

How's the weather today?

It's cold
beautiful
hot
clear
icy
warm
windy
cloudy
hazy
muggy
humid
foggy
It's snowing
It's raining
It's freezing

Vad r det fr vder idag?

det r kallt
vackert / fint
jttevarmt
klart
isigt
varmt
blsigt
molnigt
disigt
rtt
fuktigt
dimmigt
det snar
det regnar
det r kallt/kyligt

18. Family / Familj

Parents
Mother
Father
Son
Daughter
Brother
Sister
Grandfather
Grandmother
Grandson
Granddaughter
Niece
Nephew
Cousin
Uncle
Aunt
Boy
Girl
Child / Baby
Adult
Man
Woman

frldrar
mamma / mor / moder
pappa / far / fader
son
dotter
bror
syster
farfar (father's father) / morfar (mother's father)
farmor (father's mother) / mormor (mother's
mother)
sonson (son's son) / dotterson (daughter's son)
sondotter (son's daughter) / dotterdotter (daughter's
daughter)
brorsdotter (brother's daughter) / systerdotter
(sister's daughter)
brorson (brother's son) / systerson (sister's son)
kusin
farbror (father's brother) / morbror (mother's
brother)
faster (father's sister) / moster (mother's sister)
pojke
flicka
barn / baby / bebis / spdbarn
vuxen (n)
man
kvinna
10

Friend (m)
Friend (f)

vn
vninna

19. To Know People & Facts

knna - to know people
knner
knde
ska knna

present (know, knows)

past (knew)
future (will know)

veta - to know facts

vet
visste
ska veta

20. Formation of Plural Nouns

An en word takes one of the following endings when it is pluralized: or, ar, er. An ett word
takes an n or no ending at all.
Indefinite Plural
En words that end in -a
En words that end in -e
En words with stress on last
vowel

drop -a and add

en klocka - klockor
-or
drop -e and add
en pojke - pojkar
-ar
en kamrat add -er
kamrater

Ett words that end in a vowel add -n

ett stlle - stllen

Ett words that end in a

consonant

ett rum - rum

no ending

a watch - (some)
watches
a boy - (some) boys
a friend - (some)
friends
a place - (some)
places
a room - (some)
rooms

To form the definite plural, you must first form the indefinite plural and then add these
endings to that word.
Indef. Plural En words
Indef. Plural Ett words that end in a
vowel
Indef. Plural Ett words that end in a
consonant

add -na

klockor klockorna

(some) watches - the

watches

add -a

stllen - stllena (some) places - the places

add -en

rum - rummen (some) rooms - the rooms

There are some nouns that change their vowel in the plural. These nouns usually take the -er
ending when forming the indefinite plural.
en natt - ntter
en stad - stder
en hand - hnder
en tand - tnder
en strand strnder

a night - nights
a town - towns
a hand - hands
a tooth - teeth

en bonde - bnder
en ledamot - ledamter
en fot - ftter
en rot - rtter

a farmer - farmers
a member - members
a foot - feet
a root - roots

a beach - beaches

en bok - bcker

a book - books

11

en rand - rnder
ett land - lnder

a stripe - stripes
en man - mn
a country - countries mannen - mnnen

Go on to Swedish II

12

a man - men
the man - the men