Comparison (indefinite and definite)
1 The comparative (when formed with -
(a)re (see 4.5.1 ff)) is indeclinable:
Non-neuter
Neuter
Plural
Indefinite
en vackrare flicka
ett större hus
vackrare flickor/
större hus
a
prettier girl
a bigger house
prettier girls/
bigger houses
Definite
den vackrare flickan
det större huset
de vackrare
flickorna/
större
husen
the prettier girl
the bigger house
the prettier girls/
bigger houses
2 The superlative (when formed with -
(a)st (see 4.5.1 ff)) inflects in the
definite form when used attributively, but does not inflect when used
predicatively:
Non-neuter
Neuter
Plural
Predicative
flickan är vackrast
⊗
huset är nyast
⊗
bilarna är dyrast
⊗
the
girl is prettiest
the house is newest the cars are dearest
flickan är äldst
⊗
slottet är äldst
⊗
flickorna är äldst
⊗
/
slotten är äldst
⊗
the girl is oldest
the castle is oldest
the girls/castles are
oldest
kungen är mest älskad
⊗
the king is most beloved
Attributive
den vackraste flickan det nyaste huset
de dyraste bilarna
the prettiest girl
the newest house
the
dearest cars
den äldsta flickan
det äldsta slottet
de äldsta flickorna/
slotten
the oldest girl
the oldest castle
the oldest girls/castles
den mest älskade kungen
the most beloved king
4.5.6
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Comparison
of adjectives
75
Use of comparatives and superlatives
1 god,
bra:
Godare,
godast = more/most pleasant-tasting.
Bättre and
bäst are used in a general sense.
den godaste middagen
the best dinner
Cf.
den bästa uppsatsen
the
best essay
2 dålig:
V
ärre,
värst = more/most of a bad property:
den värsta lögn jag har hört
the worst lie I have heard
Sämre, sämst = less/least of a good property, i.e. poorer/poorest:
byxor av sämre kvalitet
trousers of poorer quality
3 mer, mest/fler, flest = more, most
Mer(a),
mest are only used with non-count nouns, while
fler(a) and
flest
are only used with count nouns:
Vill du ha mer kaffe?
Would you like more coffee?
De flesta svenskar gillar sill.
Most Swedes like pickled herring.
If a comparison is implied when using
de flesta, the noun following takes
the end article:
Vem fick de flesta rösterna?
Who received most votes?
4 Absolute comparative (i.e. the
comparative element is lost, the adjective
indicates a high degree):
Han har vunnit en större summa. (=
en ganska stor summa)
He has won a fairly large sum.
Cf. relative comparative:
Summan var större än han trodde.
The sum was larger than he thought.
Notice:
flera = several (cf. 3 above):
Jag har varit här flera gånger. I have been here several times.
4.5.7
4
Adjectives
76
Personal and reflexive pronouns – form
Subject pronouns
Object pronouns
Reflexive pronouns
Singular
1
jag
I
mig
me
mig (mej) me/myself
2
du
you
dig
you
dig (dej) you/yourself
ni
you
er
er
you (see 5.2 (1)
below)
3
han
he
honom
him
sig (sej)
him/himself
hon
she
henne
her
sig (sej)
her/herself
den
it
den
it
sig (sej)
it/itself
det
it
det
it
sig (sej)
it/itself
Plural
1
vi
we
oss
us
oss
we/ourselves
2
ni
you
er
you
er
you/yourselves
3
de (dom) they
dem (dom) them
sig (sej)
them/themselves
Notes:
1 Unlike English ‘I’,
jag does not have a capital letter except at the beginning of a
sentence.
Jag is pronounced [ja] unless stressed.
2
Du/
ni,
dig/
er, etc., occasionally have initial capital letters in official communications.
3. Both
de and
dem are pronounced [d
ɔ
m] except in liturgical and formal language.
The written form
dom is accepted in personal letters and modern fiction, especially in
dialogue, though cultivated Swedish retains
de and
dem in writing. This has
not extended
to the use of
dom as a front article before the adjective:
de rika [d
ɔ
m ri:ka].
4. In personal letters and
modern fiction the spellings mej,
dej and
sej are occasionally
found for
mig,
dig and
sig.
5
Det is pronounced [de:].
6. There is no separate disjunctive form of the pronoun in Swedish, but the subject
form is used for this purpose: –
Hallå du! – Vem? Jag? ‘Hallo there!’, ‘Who, me?’
(See also
5.2(3).)
5.1
78
Chapter 5
Pronouns
Use of personal pronouns
1 du/
ni: In the singular most people now use the familiar
du. Although
ni is sometimes still used as a polite form of address to people being
served
in restaurants, shops, airports, etc., to many Swedes
ni now sounds
old-fashioned and stand-offish. (See also 5.7.) Note the following idiomatic
expressions:
Du, kan du hjälpa mig?
I say/Hey, can you give me a hand?
Snälla du, hjälp mig!
Will you/Please help me!
2 han/
hon:
han is also used to refer to so-called ‘higher animals’ irrespective
of their true gender.
Vilken björn! Han är enorm.
What a bear! He’s enormous.
Hon is used to refer to the clock when telling the time and also to the
noun
människa (human being):
Hur mycket är klockan? Hon är fyra.
What’s the time? It’s four o’clock.
En människa måste bestämma sig för hur hon vill leva.
A person has to decide how he (or she) wants to live.
3 den/
det/
de: In addition to serving as personal pronouns,
these words
may also be used as demonstrative pronouns (see 5.8).
Det also has a number of idiomatic usages:
(a) as a complement of
vara/
bli when the verb is followed by a noun or
pronoun, irrespective of gender or number:
Vad var det? Det var en katt/
jag.
What was that? It was a cat/me.
Vem är hon? Det är min mamma.
Who’s she? She’s my mum.
Bröderna Olsson. Det är två fina killar.
The Olsson brothers, they’re a couple of fine lads.
(b) as a formal subject (see 12.6.1, 12.7.7):
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
