The negative prefix "o-"
Dealing with difficult neighbors often requires strong words. In Swedish, you can easily create negative forms of adjectives and nouns by adding the prefix o-. It works exactly like the English prefixes "un-", "in-", "im-", or "ir-".
When attached to an adjective, the new word still follows the standard rules for adjective agreement. If it describes an ett-word, the adjective must take a -t ending.
| The noise from the neighbor is actually unacceptable. | Oljudet från grannen är faktiskt oacceptabelt. |
You can also attach o- to nouns to create a word with the opposite or a negative meaning. For example, ljud means "sound", but oljud means "noise" or "racket".
| It is the noise that disturbs us when we sleep. | Det är oljudet som stör oss när vi sover. |
Describing bad behavior
You will frequently use o- adjectives in their basic form to describe unreasonable people (since words for people are almost always en-words).
| The neighbor is rude and unfriendly. | Grannen är oförskämd och ovänlig. |
Dummy subjects: "Det är..."
When describing a general situation or an action using "it is..." (det är...), Swedish treats the subject as neuter. This means your negative adjective must take the -t ending.
| It is irresponsible to play loud music at night. | Det är oansvarigt att spela hög musik på natten. |
However, if you use the same adjective directly with an en-word noun, it drops the -t.
| An irresponsible neighbor does not care about the rules. | En oansvarig granne bryr sig inte om reglerna. |
Here are a few more examples of negative adjectives used for general statements and situations:
| It is unfair that we cannot sleep because of them. | Det är orättvist att vi inte kan sova på grund av dem. |
| To smoke in the elevator is illegal here. | Att röka i hissen är olagligt här. |
Plural and definite forms
Just like regular adjectives, o- adjectives take an -a ending when describing plural nouns or when used in the definite form (after den, det, or de).
| The unwanted guests left the trash on the stairs. | De oönskade gästerna lämnade skräpet i trappan. |