To express a strong reaction like surprise or shock, Swedish uses exclamatory clauses starting with vad.
Exclamations with "vad"
In this context, vad translates to "how" rather than "what". The basic structure is Vad + adjective or adverb + (subject) + (verb). You can drop the subject and verb entirely for a short, punchy exclamation.
| How cool! | Vad häftigt! |
| How cool that car looks! | Vad häftig den där bilen ser ut! |
Adjective agreement
The adjective in your exclamation must agree with what it describes. Use the base form for en-words or people, and add a -t for ett-words or the dummy subject det.
| How ridiculous you are! | Vad löjlig du är! |
| How ridiculous it sounds! | Vad löjligt det låter! |
Reacting to entire events
When reacting to a whole situation or an upcoming clause (often starting with att, meaning "that"), use the neutral -t form.
| How awful that the accident happened! | Vad förfärligt att olyckan hände! |
Describing how actions are done
When the exclamation describes how an action is performed, it functions as an adverb. Adverbs in Swedish take the same -t ending as ett-word adjectives.
| How sloppily she has cleaned! | Vad slarvigt hon har städat! |