Questions & Answers about Den bästa affären ligger i centrum.
What does affären mean here? Could it also mean a deal or an affair?
Here affären means the shop/store. The word affär can also mean a business deal or a romantic affair, but with ligger i centrum (is located downtown/in the city center), only the shop meaning makes sense.
Why do we need both den and the ending -en in affären?
Swedish uses double definiteness when an adjective comes before a definite noun: determiner + adjective + noun with a definite ending. Pattern: den/det/de + adj + noun-en/et/na. Hence den bästa affären. You can’t normally drop den in standard prose.
Why is it den and not det?
Because affär is a common-gender (en) noun. Common-gender nouns take den; neuter (ett) nouns take det. Plural would use de.
Why bästa and not bäst?
Bäst is the superlative used on its own or as a predicate (Affären är bäst). Bästa is the attributive superlative form used before a noun (den bästa affären). Comparative is bättre.
How do I say the plural: the best stores?