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Questions & Answers about Jag vill ha den boken.
Do I have to use ha after vill? Why not Jag vill den boken?
Yes, you need ha. In Swedish, vill by itself means “want to [do something]” and normally takes a verb. If you want a thing, you say vill ha:
- Jag vill ha den boken.
- Jag vill läsa den boken.
Saying Jag vill den boken is ungrammatical.
Why is it den and not det?
Because bok is an en-word (common gender). The demonstrative agrees with the noun’s gender:
- den for en-words: den boken, den bilen
- det for ett-words: det huset, det bordet
Why is boken definite (-en) when den is already there? Isn’t that double?
It is—Swedish uses “double definiteness” with demonstratives:
- den/det/de + definite noun: den boken, det huset, de böckerna
- With adjectives too: den röda boken
Without a demonstrative, you just use the definite suffix: boken. Note: with the formal demonstratives denna/detta/dessa, the noun is usually indefinite in writing: denna bok, detta hus (not standard denna boken).
What’s the difference between boken and den boken?
- boken = “the book” (assumes a uniquely identifiable book in context).
- den boken = “that book,” usually more contrastive/specific (e.g., among several books or one mentioned earlier). If there’s only one book around, Jag vill ha boken is natural; if you’re pointing among many, Jag vill ha den boken fits better.
How do I say “this book” and “that book”?
- “this book”: den här boken (neutral/colloquial) or formal denna bok.
- “that book”: den där boken (pointing) or den boken (often anaphoric: one already mentioned). With den här/den där, the noun stays definite: den här boken, den där boken.
Could I just say Jag vill ha boken? Does it mean the same?
It’s correct, but slightly different. Jag vill ha boken = “I want the book” (the one we both know about). Jag vill ha den boken is more like “I want that (particular) book,” often contrasting it with others.
Can I move den boken to the front: Den boken vill jag ha?
Yes. Swedish main clauses are verb‑second (V2). If you front the object, the finite verb vill must stay in second position:
- Den boken vill jag ha.
- Jag vill ha den boken. Both are natural; fronting emphasizes which book you want.
Is Jag vill ha den boken polite enough in a shop?
It’s direct and can sound blunt. More polite options:
- Kan jag få den boken, tack?
- Jag skulle vilja ha den boken.
- Skulle jag kunna få den där boken, tack? Adding tack softens the request.
How would this change with an ett-word or in plural?
- Ett-word: Jag vill ha det huset. (ett hus → huset; demonstrative det)
- Plural: Jag vill ha de böckerna. (“those books”; spelled de, pronounced “dom”) With “this/that”: det här huset, de där böckerna.
What happens if I replace the noun with a pronoun?
- Jag vill ha den. = I want it (refers to an en‑word).
- Jag vill ha det. = I want it (refers to an ett‑word or a clause).
- Jag vill ha dem. = I want them (spelled dem, pronounced “dom”).
Where does negation go?
Put inte after the finite verb vill:
- Jag vill inte ha den boken. If you front the object:
- Den boken vill jag inte ha. The verb still stays second.
Is den here an article or a demonstrative?
Here it functions as a demonstrative (“that”). Swedish definiteness is primarily marked by the noun’s suffix (-en/-et/-na). A preposed den/det/de is also required with adjectives for plain definiteness (e.g., den stora boken = “the big book”), but without an adjective, den before a definite noun usually adds a demonstrative nuance.
Could I say boken där for “that book”?
Standard demonstrative order is pre-nominal: den där boken. boken där means “the book there” (noun + locative adverb) and is used when där is a separate location phrase, not as the regular “that” construction.
Can I drop the subject and say Vill ha den boken?
Not in standard Swedish. Subject pronouns aren’t normally dropped. In very casual texts you might see Vill ha …, but in normal speech/writing use Jag.
Any quick pronunciation tips for the whole sentence?
- Jag ≈ “yah” in everyday speech.
- vill with a short i (like English “bit”).
- ha with a long “ah”.
- den like English “den”.
- boken ≈ “BOO-ken” with a hard k and stress on the first syllable.