Anna har en hund.

Anna

Breakdown of Anna har en hund.

• ha: to have
• hunden: the dog
• en: a

Questions & Answers about Anna har en hund.

How do I pronounce har?

Har is pronounced similarly to "har" in English "hard" but without pronouncing the final d. In more phonetic terms, it sounds like /hɑːr/.

Why do we use en and not ett before hund?

Swedish nouns belong to different grammatical genders, mainly en or ett. Since hund is an en-word, you must use en before it.

Can I say Anna har hund without using en?

Generally, you need the indefinite article en to say Anna has a dog. Dropping it (i.e., saying Anna har hund) can sometimes happen in casual speech when discussing general concepts, but here it’s more standard to include en.

Do I conjugate har for different subjects in Swedish?

No. In modern Swedish, har stays the same for all subjects (jag har, du har, hon har, vi har, etc.). There’s no separate form like "has" in English.

Is there a difference between Anna har en hund and Anna har hunden?

Yes. Anna har en hund uses the indefinite form, meaning a dog. Anna har hunden means Anna has the dog—it indicates a specific dog, using the definite form hunden.