After the three-way juggling of the indefinite declension, the definite (or weak) declension is a relief: the adjective settles on -a and stops caring about gender or number. This is the form you use once a noun phrase is definite — after den/det/de, after a possessive, after a genitive. The whole effort goes into picking the right front article (and remembering the noun's own definite suffix); the adjective itself is nearly automatic.
The form: just -a
Whatever the gender, whatever the number, the definite adjective ends in -a:
| English | Swedish | Adjective form |
|---|---|---|
| the big car | den stora bilen | -a (en-word) |
| the big house | det stora huset | -a (ett-word — no -t!) |
| the big cars | de stora bilarna | -a (plural) |
This is the great simplification: the neuter -t (stort) that you need in ett stort hus never appears in the definite. It is det stora huset, not det stort huset. Once you are inside a definite phrase, the adjective no longer agrees for gender — it is -a across the board.
Den stora bilen är min.
The big car is mine. den + stora + bilen — -a for an en-word.
Det stora huset vid sjön är till salu.
The big house by the lake is for sale. det + stora + huset — -a, NOT -t, even though hus is neuter.
De stora bilarna tar för mycket plats.
The big cars take up too much room. de + stora + bilarna — -a in the plural.
The triggers: what makes a phrase "definite"
The -a form is switched on by several different definite contexts. The first is the classic double-definiteness construction — the front article den/det/de plus the noun's own definite suffix — which has its own page: Double Definiteness. But possessives and genitives trigger the weak adjective just as surely, and there the noun stays without its suffix.
After den / det / de
Jag tar den blå tröjan, inte den röda.
I'll take the blue jumper, not the red one. den + blå/röda — weak -a (blå already ends in a vowel, so it just adds -a → blåa, but the bare blå is also heard; röda clearly shows the -a).
After a possessive
A possessive (min, din, hans, hennes, vår...) makes the phrase definite, so the adjective is weak — but the noun does not take its suffix here:
Min nya bil är redan smutsig.
My new car is already dirty. min + nya + bil — possessive triggers -a, but the noun stays bare (bil, not bilen).
Vad hände med ditt gamla cykel— förlåt, din gamla cykel?
What happened to your old bike? min/din/ditt agree with the noun's gender, and the adjective is the weak gamla.
After a genitive
A genitive -s name or noun works the same way — it definitises the phrase, the adjective is weak, the noun is bare:
Annas stora hund skäller jämt.
Anna's big dog barks all the time. Annas + stora + hund — genitive triggers -a; the noun is bare (hund).
Vi sov över i mormors gamla hus.
We slept over in Grandma's old house. mormors + gamla + hus — weak adjective after a genitive.
After a demonstrative
The demonstratives den här / det här / de här ("this/these") and den där / det där / de där ("that/those") also take the weak adjective, and the noun keeps its suffix:
Den här gamla klockan tickar fortfarande.
This old clock is still ticking. den här + gamla + klockan — demonstrative + weak adjective + definite noun.
Vem äger de där fina husen?
Who owns those fine houses? de där + fina + husen.
The optional -e for a known male person
There is one variant. When the noun refers to a specific, known male human, the weak adjective may end in -e instead of -a. This is a stylistic, slightly more formal or literary option — -a is always acceptable, and increasingly common, but -e survives strongly with male reference:
Den gamle mannen satt ensam på bänken.
The old man sat alone on the bench. gamle (-e) — known male referent; gamla would also be correct, slightly more neutral.
Min lille bror fyller fem i morgon.
My little brother turns five tomorrow. lille (-e) is idiomatic with a young boy; lilla is also heard.
Den unge mannen presenterade sig artigt.
The young man introduced himself politely. unge (-e) for a male referent (formal/literary flavour).
The -e never appears with female, neuter, plural, or inanimate reference — den gamla kvinnan ("the old woman"), never den gamle kvinnan. It is a male-personal option layered on top of the default -a. The full nuance, including its use in titles and set phrases, is on The Masculine -e.
Vowel stems in the definite
Stems already ending in å/ä/ö or another vowel simply add -a (or are sometimes left bare in careful speech): blå → blåa, grå → gråa. There is no doubling and no -t to worry about, because -t belongs only to the indefinite neuter.
Den blåa skjortan passar bättre till kostymen.
The blue shirt goes better with the suit. blå + -a → blåa in the definite (the bare den blå skjortan is also widely used).
Common Mistakes
❌ det stort hus
Incorrect — in the definite there is no neuter -t; the adjective is -a, and the noun takes its suffix: det stora huset.
✅ det stora huset
the big house.
❌ den stor bilen
Incorrect — the adjective must be the weak -a in a definite phrase: stora.
✅ den stora bilen
the big car.
❌ stora bilen (with no front article)
Incorrect — after den/det/de the front article is obligatory; you can't drop it.
✅ den stora bilen
the big car.
❌ min nya bilen
Incorrect — after a possessive the noun is bare, not suffixed: min nya bil.
✅ min nya bil
my new car.
❌ den gamle kvinnan
Incorrect — the -e option is for male persons only; with a woman use -a: den gamla kvinnan.
✅ den gamla kvinnan
the old woman.
Key Takeaways
- The definite (weak) adjective is -a, regardless of gender and number — den stora bilen, det stora huset, de stora bilarna.
- The neuter -t never appears in the definite: det stora huset, not det stort huset.
- Triggers: den/det/de, a possessive, a genitive, a demonstrative. After den/det/de and demonstratives the noun keeps its suffix; after a possessive or genitive the noun is bare.
- An optional -e replaces -a only with a known male person (den gamle mannen) — a formal/literary choice; -a is always safe.
- Vowel stems just add -a (blå → blåa); no doubling, no -t.
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Double Definiteness (den stora bilen)A2 — Swedish's signature feature: when a definite noun gets an adjective, definiteness is marked THREE times at once — a preposed article den/det/de, the adjective in its -a form, and the enclitic suffix still on the noun (den stora bilen, det stora huset, de stora bilarna). The exact failure mode for English speakers is dropping one of the three (*den stora bil or *stora bilen) — and Standard Swedish requires all three together.
- The Indefinite (Strong) DeclensionA1 — The three-form adjective declension that agrees with an indefinite noun: base form with en-words (en stor bil), +t with ett-words (ett stort hus), and +a in the plural and predicatively (stora bilar, bilarna är stora).
- Possessive DeterminersA1 — The words for 'my/your/his...' before a noun: min/mitt/mina, din/ditt/dina, vår/vårt/våra and sin/sitt/sina AGREE with the possessed noun's gender and number, while hans, hennes, dess, er and deras are INVARIABLE. The rule English habits keep breaking: a noun after any possessive goes BARE (min bil, never *min bilen) — no definite suffix, no front article.
- The Masculine -e EndingB2 — In formal and traditional Swedish, a definite adjective describing a single male person can take -e instead of the usual -a (den gamle mannen, min käre vän) — an optional, increasingly literary survival of grammatical masculine gender that never applies to women, objects, or plurals.