Swedish: An Essential Grammar, 2nd edition

det långa (tinget)
de långa (människorna/tingen)
3 Swedish adjectival nouns can be formed from the following:
(a) The indefinite: en bekant (an acquaintance), en död (a dead person).
(b) The non-neuter singular definite: den gamle (the old man), den
gamla (the old woman), den enskilda (the individual person).
(c) The neuter singular definite: det nya (the new thing), det enda (the
only thing), det första (the first thing).
(d) The definite plural: de kriminella (the criminal community).
(e) The definite form of the superlative: det dummaste (the most stupid
thing), det mest överraskande (the most surprising thing).
(f) The present participle: de närvarande (those present), den
inneboende (the lodger/inmate), de överlevande (the survivors).
(g) The past participle: en misstänkt (a suspect), en nygift (a newly
wed), en okänd (a stranger), den sårade (the wounded person), de
skadade (the injured).
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Adjectival
nouns and
nationality
words
69

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4 ‘The English’: Expressions of nationality such as ‘the English (people)’,
‘the French (people)’ are rarely translated by adjectival nouns. Common
nouns indicating the male inhabitants are used instead (see 4.4.2 below).
The English lost the battle of Hastings.
Engelsmännen förlorade slaget vid Hastings.
The French take their holidays in August.
Fransmännen tar semester i augusti.
Nationality words
Male inhabitant
Female inhabitant
Language
Adjective
Country
1 Plurals in -ar:
Plurals in -or:
svensk (-ar)
svenska (-or)
svenska
svensk
Sverige
dansk (-ar)
danska (-or)
danska
dansk
Danmark
tysk (-ar)
tyska (-or)
tyska
tysk
Tyskland
islänning (-ar)
isländska (-or)
isländska
isländsk
Island
ryss (-ar)
ryska (-or)
ryska
rysk
Ryssland
2 Plurals in -er:
Plurals in -or:
amerikan (-er)
amerikanska (-or) engelska
amerikansk Amerika
spanjor (-er)
spanjorska (-or)
spanska
spansk
Spanien
kines (-er)
kinesiska (-or)
kinesiska
kinesisk
Kina
grek (-er)
grekiska (-or)
grekiska
grekisk
Grekland
3 Plurals in 
⊗
:
Plurals in -or:
engelsman (-män) engelska (-or)
engelska
engelsk
England
fransman (-män) fransyska (-or)
franska
fransk
Frankrike
norrman (-män)
norska (-or)
norska
norsk
Norge
finländare
finska (-or)
finska
finsk
Finland
holländare
holländska (-or)
holländska holländsk
Holland
italienare
italienska (-or)
italienska italiensk
Italien
4.4.2
4
Adjectives
70

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Comparison of adjectives
Comparison with -are, -ast
The comparative has one form only for both genders, definite and indefinite.
The superlative has two forms, an indefinite and a definite form. For the
definite forms of the superlative see 4.5.6.
A large number of Swedish adjectives form their comparative and superlative
forms by adding the endings -are, -ast to the positive form:
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
glad
gladare
gladast
happy
happier
happiest
This group includes all those adjectives in 4.2.2 (1–6, 8–10) above,
including the frequent group ending in -(l)ig:
rolig
roligare
roligast
funny
funnier
funniest
Notice, however, that some adjectives compared in this way drop the
-e in their final syllable before adding -are, -ast (see 4.2.2 (10, 11)):
vacker
vackrare
vackrast
pretty
prettier
prettiest
Adjectives in a short vowel +m/n (4.2.2 (8)) double the vowel when
adding the endings -are, -ast (see 14.2 (3)):
grym
grymmare
grymmast
cruel
crueller
cruellest
Notice that many adjectives which in English compare with ‘more,
most’ in Swedish add -are, -ast:
Comparative
Superlative
intelligentare
intelligentast
more, most intelligent
intressantare
intressantast
more, most interesting
modernare
modernast
more, most modern
skickligare
skickligast
more, most skilful
svårare
svårast
more, most difficult
Notes:
1 Past participles in -d, -t tend to compare with mer(a), mest or with -are, -ast:
en mer(a) bortskämd flicka
a more spoiled girl
2 Those adjectives in -d, -dd, -t, -en which resemble past participles tend to add 
-are, -ast:
en vidsyntare lärare
a more broad-minded teacher
3 Past participles ending in -en tend to compare with -are, -ast:
en frusnare brevbärare
a colder postman
4.5.1
4.5
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Comparison
of adjectives
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Comparison with -re, -st
There is a small group of commonly used monosyllabic adjectives which,
with the exception of hög, change the stem vowel in the comparative and
superlative forms as well as adding -re, -st:
Positive Comparative Superlative
O 
→
Ö: stor
större
störst
big, bigger, biggest
grov
grövre
grövst
coarse, coarser, coarsest
Å 
→
Ä: låg
lägre
lägst
low, lower, lowest
lång
längre
längst
long, longer, longest
trång trängre
trängst narrow, narrower, narrowest
få
färre
–
few, fewer
U
|
→
Y:
ung
yngre
yngst
young, younger, youngest
tung
tyngre
tyngst
heavy, heavier, heaviest
Ö:
hög
högre
högst
high, higher, highest
Irregular comparison
There is a small group of adjectives which compares by adopting a different
stem:
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
god/bra
bättre
bäst
good, better, best
dålig
sämre
sämst
bad, worse, worst
dålig/ond
värre
värst
bad, worse, worst
gammal
äldre
äldst
old, older, oldest
liten
mindre
minst
small, smaller, smallest
många
fler(a)
flest
many, more, most
mycket
mer(a)
mest
much, more, most
4.5.3
4.5.2
4
Adjectives
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Comparison with mer, mest
A large and varied group of adjectives compares using the adverbs mer
and mest rather than an ending. This group includes:
1 Most past participles:
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
komplicerad
mer komplicerad
mest komplicerad
complicated
more complicated
most complicated
ansträngd
mer ansträngd
mest ansträngd
strained
more strained
most strained
Exceptions: Past participles ending in -en often add an inflexional ending:
frusen
frusnare
frusnast
cold (lit. frozen)
colder
coldest
2 All present participles:
omfattande
mer omfattande
mest omfattande
wide-ranging
more wide-ranging
most wide-ranging
3 All adjectives of two or more syllables ending in -isk:
fantastisk
mer fantastisk
mest fantastisk
fantastic
more fantastic
most fantastic
Notice that all adjectives compared using mer and mest also inflect according
to the indefinite and definite declensions (see 4.5.6):
ett mera typiskt exempel
a more typical example
den mest fantastiska matchen
the most fantastic match
There is an increasing tendency to use mer, mest as an alternative to
inflectional comparisons:
Det är mest troligt att han avgår.
It’s most likely that he will resign.
4.5.4
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Comparison
of adjectives
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Comparison (indefinite) – summary chart
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
1 Comparative with -are, -ast. See 4.5.1.
glad
gladare
gladast
happy
rolig
roligare
roligast
funny
Notice: mager
magrare
magrast
thin
2 Comparative with (vowel change and) -re, -st. See 4.5.2.
stor
större
störst
big
lång
längre
längst
long
ung
yngre
yngst
young
But notice also
hög
högre
högst
high
3 Irregular comparison – new stem. See 4.5.3. For use, see 4.5.7.
god/bra
bättre
bäst
good
dålig
sämre
sämst
bad
dålig/ond
värre
värst
bad
gammal
äldre
äldst
old
liten
mindre
minst
little
många
fler(a)
flest
many
mycket