Var är ditt pass?

Where is your passport?

Breakdown of Var är ditt pass?

• vara: to be
• var: where
• passet: the passport
• ditt: your

Questions & Answers about Var är ditt pass?

Why is it ditt and not din?

Swedish possessive pronouns agree with the grammatical gender and number of the noun they modify.

• Common gender (en-words): din — e.g., din bok
• Neuter (ett-words): ditt — e.g., ditt pass
• Plural (any gender): dina — e.g., dina pass (“your passports”)

Because pass is a neuter noun (an ett-word), you must use ditt.

How do I know that pass is neuter (ett-word)?

Unfortunately, gender isn’t usually predictable from the form of the noun. You learn it with the noun:

• Indefinite: ett pass
• Definite: passet
• Plural: pass
• Definite plural: passen Dictionaries mark this as “pass n.” or “ett pass.” The form ditt in the sentence is a helpful clue that it’s neuter.

Can I say Var är ditt passet? or Var är passet ditt?

No.

• You don’t combine a possessive with the noun’s definite ending in standard Swedish. Say ditt pass, not ditt passet.
• Postposed possessives like passet ditt are Norwegian style (and occur only in some non‑standard Swedish dialects). Standard Swedish puts the possessive before the noun: ditt pass. If you mean “Where is the passport?” (no “your”), say Var är passet?

What’s the word order here?

In a wh-question, Swedish puts the finite verb right after the question word (V2 word order):

• Wh-word + verb + subject + rest So: Var (where) + är (is) + ditt pass (subject) → Var är ditt pass?

Is var the right word here, or should it be vart?

Use:

• var for location (where something is): Var är ditt pass?
• vart for direction (to where something is going/moving): Vart ska du? A helpful check: if English uses “where is/are,” use var; if it uses “where to,” use vart. You can optionally add emphasis with var någonstans (“where (somewhere)”): Var någonstans är ditt pass?

Could I say Var finns ditt pass? instead of Var är ditt pass?

You can, but there’s a nuance:

• Var är ditt pass? is the most natural way to ask about the location of a specific item.
• Var finns …? (from finnas, “to exist/be found”) often asks about availability or where one can find something in general: Var finns toaletterna? “Where are the restrooms?” For a specific passport, är is more idiomatic.

How do I pronounce the sentence?

Approximate IPA and tips:

• Var [vɑːr] — a long “a” like in “father.”
• är [ɛːr] — long “ä,” similar to the vowel in English “air,” with an audible r.
• ditt [dɪtː] — short i as in “bit,” with a long double t.
• pass [pasː] — short a as in “ah,” with a long double s. Intonation: Swedish wh-questions typically end with a falling pitch: a slight rise early, then fall at the end.

Does är change with the subject (do I need “is/are/am” forms)?

No. är is used for all persons in the present:

• jag är, du är, han/hon/hen är, vi är, ni är, de är Other forms of the verb “to be”: past var, perfect har varit.

In this sentence, is ditt pass the subject or the object?

It’s the subject. The question word Var pulls the verb är up to second position, so the subject ditt pass comes after the verb: “[Where] [is] [your passport]?”

How would I address more than one person (plural “you”)?

Use the plural possessives:

• Singular “you”: din/ditt/dina
• Plural “you”: er/ert/era So to several people: Var är ert pass? (one passport) or Var är era pass? (several passports). Note: ni (you plural) is also sometimes used as a polite singular in service contexts, but everyday modern Swedish usually sticks to du.

How do other possessives work with pass?

• My: mitt pass
• His: hans pass
• Her: hennes pass
• Their: deras pass
• Reflexive 3rd person (when the subject owns it): sitt pass — e.g., Han tappade sitt pass. (“He lost his [own] passport.”)

Why isn’t there an article like “the” or “a” with a possessive?

In Swedish, a possessive replaces the article, and the noun stays in the indefinite form: mitt pass, not mitt passet. With adjectives, you still don’t add the definite ending or a separate article: mitt nya pass (not “mitt det nya passet”).

Are there other natural ways to ask this?

Yes:

• Var har du ditt pass? (“Where do you keep/have your passport?”)
• Har du ditt pass (med dig)? (“Do you have your passport (with you)?”)
• Polite request: Skulle du kunna visa ditt pass? / Kan du ta fram ditt pass? Adding ursäkta (“excuse me”) or tack (“please/thanks”) softens the tone.

Does pass mean anything else in Swedish?

Yes. Besides “passport,” pass can mean a “session” (e.g., a workout), a “shift” at work, or a “mountain pass.” In this sentence, Var makes a concrete object reading obvious.

How might someone answer this question?

Examples:

• Det är här. (“It’s here.”)
• Det ligger i väskan. (“It’s in the bag.”)
• Jag vet inte. Jag har tappat det. (“I don’t know. I’ve lost it.”)
• Det ligger på bordet i hallen. (“It’s on the table in the hallway.”)