Det var en hemsk dag.

It was an awful day.

Breakdown of Det var en hemsk dag.

• vara: to be
• det: it
• dagen: the day
• en: an

Questions & Answers about Det var en hemsk dag.

Why does the sentence start with Det?

In this sentence, det means it.

So Det var en hemsk dag literally matches English It was a terrible day.

Swedish often uses det in the same kind of general way English uses it, especially in statements like:

• Det var roligt. = It was fun.
• Det var sent. = It was late.
• Det var en hemsk dag. = It was a terrible day.

You do not need det to match dag in gender here. It is just the normal subject it.

What does var mean, and what verb does it come from?

Var is the past tense of vara, which means to be.

So:

• är = is / am / are (present)
• var = was / were (past)
• vara = to be

Examples:

• Det är en bra dag. = It is a good day.
• Det var en bra dag. = It was a good day.

So in your sentence, var tells you that the sentence is in the past.

Why is it en dag and not ett dag?