When talking about exactly two alternatives—like two teams on a pitch or the two halves of a match—Swedish uses a special set of formal dual pronouns: vardera (each), ingendera (neither), and endera (either).
Using Dual Pronouns with Nouns
When these words act as determiners (placed directly before a noun), the noun that follows them must take the definite form. For example, "team" is lag, but "each team" is vardera laget.
Vardera means "each" (out of two):
| Each team played very offensive football. | Vardera laget spelade mycket offensiv fotboll. |
Ingendera means "neither" (out of two):
| Neither coach wants to play defensive football today. | Ingendera tränaren vill spela defensiv fotboll idag. |
Endera means "either" (out of two):
| The goal can come in either half. | Målet kan komma i endera halvleken. |
Standalone and Post-Position Use
These dual pronouns can also stand alone, replacing the noun entirely, or come after the noun they refer to. For instance, vardera is frequently placed at the end of a clause to mean "each" in terms of distribution (like assigning points or goals to two sides).
| They get one point each after the match. | De får en poäng vardera efter matchen. |
Sports Vocabulary in Context
Let's look at a few more examples combining these pronouns with common sports concepts like a tied match (oavgjord). Notice how the dual pronouns cleanly set up the contrast between the two competing sides.
| Neither team won, so the match is tied. | Ingendera laget vann, så matchen är oavgjord. |
| Either team can win the trophy today. | Endera laget kan vinna pokalen idag. |
| We do not see it in either half. | Vi ser det inte i endera halvleken. |