To estimate a quantity in Swedish, place the singular article en directly before a number. While en normally means "a" or "one", when paired with a plural amount, it translates to "about" or "approximately".
| About fifty demonstrators shout the slogan. | En femtio demonstranter ropar slagordet. |
| At the demonstration, about fifty demonstrators are standing and shouting the slogan. | Vid demonstrationen står en femtio demonstranter och ropar slagordet. |
Always "en"
When used this way, the word is always en, regardless of whether the plural noun is an en-word or an ett-word. The article acts as an approximation marker for the number itself, so it does not change to match the noun's gender.
| About thirty riot police officers are standing and waiting with their shields in front of them. | En trettio kravallpoliser står och väntar med sina sköldar framför sig. |
| About twenty peaceful demonstrators are carrying placards and banners. | En tjugo fredliga demonstranter bär plakat och banderoller. |
These approximation phrases act exactly like normal noun phrases, meaning they can function as both subjects and objects in a sentence:
| The demonstration became violent when about forty people started fighting. | Demonstrationen blev våldsam när en fyrtio personer började bråka. |
| The riot police let about thirty peaceful demonstrators carry their banners. | Kravallpolisen låter en trettio fredliga demonstranter bära sina banderoller. |
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