Min kollega är mycket social.

My colleague is very social.

Breakdown of Min kollega är mycket social.

• vara: to be
• min: my
• kollegan: the colleague
• social: sociable
• mycket: very

Questions & Answers about Min kollega är mycket social.

Why is it min kollega and not mitt kollega or mina kollega?

Swedish possessive pronouns agree with the grammatical gender and number of the noun they modify, not with the owner.

• min = my (for en-words, singular)
• mitt = my (for ett-words, singular)
• mina = my (for all plural nouns, both en- and ett-words)

The noun kollega is an en-word in Swedish: en kollega.
So you must say:

• min kollega = my colleague (one)
• mina kollegor = my colleagues (several)

mitt kollega would be wrong because kollega is not an ett-word.

What gender and plural form does kollega have in Swedish?

Kollega is:

• Singular, indefinite: en kollega (a colleague)
• Singular, definite: kollegan (the colleague)
• Plural, indefinite: kollegor (colleagues)
• Plural, definite: kollegorna (the colleagues)

It is an en-word (common gender), so it uses min in the singular and mina in the plural:
min kollega, mina kollegor.

What does är correspond to in English, and does it change with the subject?

Är is the present tense of the verb att vara (to be).
It corresponds to am / is / are in English:

• Jag är = I am
• Du är = You are (singular)
• Han/hon/den/det är = He/she/it is
• Vi är = We are
• Ni är = You are (plural or formal)
• De är = They are

The form är is the same for all subjects; Swedish does not change the verb form depending on who is doing the action. Only the tense changes, for example:

• Jag var = I was
• Jag ska vara / Jag kommer att vara = I will be

What exactly does mycket mean here, and how is it different from other words like väldigt or jätte-?

In this sentence, mycket means very and is used to intensify the adjective:

• mycket social = very social

Mycket can also mean a lot / much / many, but then it usually comes before a verb or a noun:

• Jag jobbar mycket. = I work a lot.
• Mycket arbete. = A lot of work.

Compared to some similar intensifiers:

• väldigt social – very social (quite similar to mycket, often a bit more colloquial)
• jättesocial – super social / really social (more informal and stronger)
• ganska social – quite / fairly social (weaker)
• så social – so social (often emotional or emphatic)

Mycket social is neutral and suitable in both spoken and written Swedish.

Why is mycket placed before social? Can you say Min kollega är social mycket?

In Swedish, adverbs that intensify adjectives almost always come before the adjective:

• mycket social
• väldigt trevlig
• ganska blyg

So the normal word order is:

Subject – verb – intensifier – adjective
Min kollega är mycket social.

Min kollega är social mycket is incorrect and sounds wrong to native speakers.
The intensifier mycket must be placed directly before the adjective social here.

Does the adjective social change form depending on gender, number, or definiteness?

Yes, like most Swedish adjectives, social changes form, but only in certain positions.

Indefinite singular:

• en-word: en social kollega
• ett-word: ett socialt liv (a social life)

Plural and definite forms:

• plural (indefinite): sociala kollegor
• definite singular: den sociala kollegan
• definite plural: de sociala kollegorna

So:

• Your sentence (singular, en-word, indefinite): Min kollega är mycket social.
• Plural version: Mina kollegor är mycket sociala.

Is social used the same way as English social or sociable when talking about a person?

Mostly yes. When describing a person, social in Swedish usually means:

• sociable
• outgoing
• likes being with people and talking

So Min kollega är mycket social means your colleague is very sociable / very outgoing.

Note:

• In other contexts, social can also relate to social policy or welfare (as in socialtjänst = social services, socialförsäkring = social insurance), but in your sentence it clearly describes personality, just like English social / sociable.

What is the difference between kollega, arbetskamrat, and medarbetare?

All three can be translated as colleague, but they have slightly different nuances:

• kollega
  General word for someone you work with, or someone in the same profession.

  • Min kollega är mycket social. = My colleague is very social.
  • Can also mean a professional peer in another company in the same field.

• arbetskamrat
  Literally “work-mate”. More personal and informal; emphasizes the person you share a workplace with.

  • Hon är en bra arbetskamrat.

• medarbetare
  Often used from a manager’s / company’s perspective: “co-worker / staff member / employee”.

  • Mina medarbetare är mycket sociala.

In everyday speech, kollega is very common and perfectly natural in your sentence.

How would I say “My colleagues are very social” in Swedish?

You need to make both the noun and the adjective plural:

• Mina kollegor är mycket sociala.

Changes from the original sentence:

• Min → Mina (because it’s plural)
• kollega → kollegor (plural)
• social → sociala (plural/definite adjective form)

How do I turn this sentence into a yes/no question: “Is my colleague very social?”

For yes/no questions in Swedish, you usually put the verb first:

• Statement: Min kollega är mycket social.
• Question: Är min kollega mycket social?

Structure:

• Verb – subject – rest of the sentence

Answering:

• Ja, min kollega är mycket social.
• Nej, min kollega är inte särskilt social. (No, my colleague is not very social.)