Fotografen får ett nytt uppdrag.

Because fotografen is the definite singular form: the photographer.

In Swedish, the definite article is usually added as an ending, not as a separate word:

• en fotograf = a photographer
• fotografen = the photographer

Since fotograf is an en-word, its definite singular ending is -en.

In Swedish, the is often built into the noun itself.

So instead of saying something like the photographer with a separate word, Swedish normally says:

• fotografen = the photographer

This is very different from English, but it is completely normal in Swedish. The ending -en already contains the idea of the.

Here, får is the present tense of få.

• få = to get / to receive
• får = gets / is getting / receives

So Fotografen får ett nytt uppdrag means that the photographer gets or receives a new assignment.

A useful warning: få can mean different things in different contexts. For example, får can sometimes mean may / is allowed to. But in this sentence, with ett nytt uppdrag, it clearly means gets/receives.

Because uppdrag is an ett-word (a neuter noun), not an en-word.

In Swedish, indefinite singular nouns take either:

• en for common gender nouns
• ett for neuter nouns

So:

• ett uppdrag = an assignment
• not en uppdrag

Unfortunately, the gender of many nouns just has to be learned along with the word.

Because adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

Since uppdrag is an ett-word, the adjective ny changes to nytt in the singular indefinite neuter form:

• en ny bok = a new book
• ett nytt uppdrag = a new assignment

So the extra -tt appears because uppdrag is an ett-word.

This is the normal Swedish word order for a simple statement:

subject + verb + object

So here:

• Fotografen = subject
• får = verb
• ett nytt uppdrag = object

This is very similar to basic English word order:

• The photographer
  • gets
    • a new assignment

Uppdrag usually means assignment, task, or sometimes commission, depending on context.

In this sentence, ett nytt uppdrag suggests some kind of new piece of work or professional task. For a photographer, it could mean:

• a new job
• a new commission
• a new assignment from a client or employer

So assignment is a very natural translation here.

Får is pronounced roughly like for in many varieties of English, but with a Swedish vowel quality.

A few helpful points:

• å is usually pronounced like the vowel in English more or for (approximate only)
• the r is pronounced in a Swedish way, which depends somewhat on dialect

So an English-speaking learner can start with something close to for as an approximation.

Also, får is a very common Swedish word, so it is worth getting used to hearing it in context.

Nytt can be tricky because Swedish y does not sound like English y.

A rough guide:

• Swedish y is a rounded vowel that English does not really have
• tt makes the preceding sound short
• the word is short and clipped

So nytt is not pronounced like English nit or neat, although those may be rough beginner approximations.

If you are learning pronunciation, the biggest thing to notice is that Swedish y is a special vowel sound that needs practice.

No. Fotografen is singular, not plural.

It means:

• the photographer

Some related forms are:

• fotograf = photographer
• fotografen = the photographer
• fotografer = photographers
• fotograferna = the photographers

So the -en ending here marks definite singular, not plural.

It does — in this sentence, that word is ett.

So:

• ett uppdrag = an assignment / a task
• ett nytt uppdrag = a new assignment

English uses a/an, while Swedish uses en/ett, depending on the noun’s gender.

Here, because uppdrag is an ett-word, the sentence uses ett.