Den nya jorden är lättare än den gamla, så jag byter kruka i eftermiddag.

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Breakdown of Den nya jorden är lättare än den gamla, så jag byter kruka i eftermiddag.

• vara: to be
• så: so
• ny: new

Questions & Answers about Den nya jorden är lättare än den gamla, så jag byter kruka i eftermiddag.

Why is it den nya jorden and not den ny jord?

Because Swedish uses double definiteness when a noun is definite and has an adjective before it.

So in den nya jorden:

• den = the definite article for a common-gender noun
• nya = the adjective in its definite form
• jorden = the noun in its definite form

This is very common in Swedish:

• den röda bilen = the red car
• det stora huset = the big house

So den nya jorden literally has both a definite article and a definite noun form. That is normal Swedish grammar.

Why is it den and not det?

Because jord is a common-gender noun in Swedish, not a neuter noun.

Swedish nouns usually belong to one of two genders:

• en-words (common gender)
• ett-words (neuter)

jord is an en-word, so in definite phrases you use den:

• en jord
• den jorden

If it were a neuter noun, you would use det instead.

Why do the adjectives become nya and gamla?