Jag har en hund.

I have a dog.

Breakdown of Jag har en hund.

• jag: I
• ha: to have
• hunden: the dog

Questions & Answers about Jag har en hund.

Why is the Swedish indefinite article "en" used here instead of "ett"?

Because hund is an en-word in Swedish, which means its indefinite article is en. In Swedish, nouns are generally classified as either en-words or ett-words, and hund falls into the en category.

Does the verb "har" change depending on who is speaking? For example, would it be different if you say "du har" (you have)?

No, har stays the same for all pronouns in the present tense. Whether it’s jag har (I have), du har (you have), or vi har (we have), the verb form remains har.

Could you say this sentence differently while keeping the same meaning, for example by switching the word order?

Basic Swedish word order is Subject–Verb–Object, so Jag har en hund is the most natural arrangement. While you might occasionally see En hund har jag to emphasize "a dog" specifically, the default word order sounds most natural and is more commonly used.

Why do you pronounce "jag" more like "yah" in casual speech?

In everyday spoken Swedish, jag often slurs to a shorter sound, frequently something like "ya" or "yah". This is a phonetic shortcut that native speakers use, but both forms are correct and understood.

Is the noun "hund" singular or plural in this sentence, and how would the plural form look?

Here, hund is singular. The plural form is hundar, so if you want to say "dogs", you would say hundar (e.g., "Jag har hundar"). In this specific sentence, it’s referring to a single dog.