Du har en katt.

you

Breakdown of Du har en katt.

• ha: to have
• katten: the cat

Questions & Answers about Du har en katt.

Why do we use du here instead of something else?

In Swedish, du is the informal singular pronoun for addressing one person, similar to "you" in English. Another form, ni, is used as a plural or a formal address, but in modern Swedish, du is generally used in almost every situation when talking to one person.

Why is the verb har used?

Har is the present tense form of ha (meaning "to have"). In Swedish, the present tense is used for both current actions and general statements of fact, just like "have" in English.

What is the purpose of the indefinite article en?

Swedish has two main grammatical genders: en and ett. Katt (cat) is an en-word, so you use en as the indefinite article. Another noun might be an ett-word, requiring ett instead.

Is har pronounced the same way you’d pronounce "har" in English?

Not exactly. In Swedish, the r at the end of har is often pronounced more distinctly than in many English dialects. Also, the vowel sound in ha is typically somewhat more open than the "ha" sound in English words like "hard."

Why do some people write Du with a capital D, and others du with a lowercase d?

In modern Swedish, du is almost always spelled with a lowercase d unless it’s at the beginning of a sentence. The older convention was to capitalize pronouns of direct address as a sign of respect, but that’s now considered outdated.

Can this sentence be rearranged? For example, can we say En katt har du?

Yes, Swedish allows some flexibility in word order, especially for emphasis. En katt har du would shift focus onto "en katt." However, the most natural, basic form remains Du har en katt.