Volontären delar ut affischer.

The volunteer hands out posters.

Breakdown of Volontären delar ut affischer.

• volontären: the volunteer
• affischen: the poster
• dela ut: to hand out

Questions & Answers about Volontären delar ut affischer.

Why does volontären end in -en?

Because -en is the definite singular ending for many common-gender nouns in Swedish.

So:

• en volontär = a volunteer
• volontären = the volunteer

In Swedish, definiteness is often shown by attaching the article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

Why isn’t there a separate word for the before volontären?

In Swedish, when a noun is definite and stands by itself, you usually do not add a separate word for the. The ending does the job.

So:

• en affisch = a poster
• affischen = the poster
• en volontär = a volunteer
• volontären = the volunteer

You normally use a separate definite word such as den or det when there is an adjective:

• volontären = the volunteer
• den snälla volontären = the kind volunteer

What does delar ut mean, and why are there two words?