Swedish grammar: demonstrative adjectives
From UniLang Wiki
The Swedish demonstrative pronouns (sometimes called demonstrative adjectives) are as follows:
- Denna/detta (den/det här) – this
- Den/det (den/det där) – that
- Dessa (de här) – these
- De (de där) – those
The use of denna/detta depends on the gender of the noun, i.e. "denna byggnad" (this building) but "detta hus" (this house). Using these demonstrative pronouns automatically requires the indefinite form of the noun; though it's not uncommon to hear "detta huset" in spoken language.
The use of den/det requires the definite form of the noun; "Ge mig den boken" (Give me that book). The "där" can be inserted with two possibilities: "Ge mig den där boken" (Give me that book) or "Ge mig den boken där" (Give me the book that is over there). The first phrase is to recommend, the second is not very used in the written language.
Dessa (de här) is very abused in the Swedish language. One oftenly hears "domma" (dialectal) that has no grammatical base. "Dessa" requires indefinite form plural: "Dessa byggnader ska målas om" (These buildings are to be repainted).
De (de där)—same thing as "dessa". You can also here chose to say "de husen där" (those houses over there) but then you emphasize where the houses are situated and not that there are houses.
Each and every time you use a demonstrative pronoun combined with an adjective, the adjective must be congruent: "Jag ger bort den här tråkiga boken." (I give this boring book away) "Kan jag få den röda pennan?" (Can I have the red pencil?) "Åh, dessa oregelbundna verb gör mig galen!" (Oh, these irregular verbs make me crazy!) "De där tyska bilarna verkar bra." (Those German cars seem to be neat.)
