Terrängen var brant och hal.

Because terrängen is the definite form of the noun, meaning the terrain rather than just terrain.

• en terräng = a terrain / terrain
• terrängen = the terrain

In Swedish, the definite article is often added as an ending on the noun instead of being a separate word like the in English.

Since the sentence refers to a specific terrain, Swedish uses terrängen.

Terräng is an en-word (common gender):

• en terräng
• terrängen

This matters because Swedish nouns belong to grammatical genders, and that affects forms like:

• the indefinite article: en or ett
• the definite ending
• adjective agreement in some contexts

In this sentence, knowing that terräng is an en-word helps explain why the definite form is terrängen.

Var is the past tense of är (is / are) from the verb att vara (to be).

So:

• är = is / are
• var = was / were

That means:

• Terrängen är brant och hal. = The terrain is steep and slippery.
• Terrängen var brant och hal. = The terrain was steep and slippery.

This works just like English:

• The terrain was steep and slippery.
• Terrängen var brant och hal.

The verb var links the subject (terrängen) to two describing words, brant and hal. These are predicate adjectives: adjectives that come after a linking verb like to be.

So the structure is:

• Terrängen = subject
• var = linking verb
• brant och hal = adjectives describing the subject

Because the subject is singular, and the adjective is being used after var.

In Swedish, adjectives often change form depending on gender, number, and whether they come before a noun or after a linking verb. Here, the adjective is a predicate adjective.

For brant, the form you see here is the correct singular form used with this noun.

A useful comparison:

• en brant backe = a steep hill
• backen är brant = the hill is steep
• branta backar = steep hills

So branta would normally be used for plural or some other agreeing contexts, not here.

Because adjectives have different base forms.

• brant already has -t as part of its basic form
• hal has no -t in its basic form

So this is not because one adjective is being changed differently in this sentence. It is simply how those adjectives look in their normal form.

Compare:

• brant = steep
• hal = slippery

Swedish adjectives do not all have the same shape in their basic form, just as English adjectives do not all look alike either.

Here, hal means slippery.

It is commonly used for things that are difficult to walk or drive on, for example:

• Vägen är hal. = The road is slippery.
• Golvet är halt. = The floor is slippery.

So in Terrängen var brant och hal, it means the ground or terrain was difficult because it was both steep and slippery.

Because Swedish, like English, usually uses och once to connect the final two items in a simple pair:

• brant och hal = steep and slippery

You do not need to repeat och before both adjectives.

Yes. This is very standard Swedish word order for a basic statement:

• Terrängen = subject
• var = verb
• brant och hal = description

So the sentence follows the common pattern:

Subject + verb + complement

This is the same basic order as in English:

The terrain + was + steep and slippery

A rough guide for an English speaker is:

te-RENG-en

A few details:

• ä sounds somewhat like the vowel in English bed, though not exactly the same
• ng is pronounced like the ng in sing
• the stress is on the second syllable: -räng-

So a rough pronunciation is:

te-RENG-en

Not perfect English spelling, but close enough to help.

Yes. That would simply change the tense from past to present.

• Terrängen var brant och hal. = The terrain was steep and slippery.
• Terrängen är brant och hal. = The terrain is steep and slippery.

So the grammar is the same; only the time changes.

Yes. Brant and hal together suggest that the terrain was not only difficult but potentially dangerous.

• brant = steep
• hal = slippery

That combination often implies poor footing, risk of falling, and difficult movement. So even if the meaning has already been given, the sentence naturally carries that extra sense of challenge.