Group 3: The -er and -r Endings
The third major group of Swedish plural nouns uses the endings -er and -r. This group primarily consists of en-words, especially international loanwords (like en student or en tomat) and words with the stress on their final syllable.
Consonants: Adding -er
If a Group 3 noun ends in a consonant, you add -er to form the plural.
| Indefinite singular | Indefinite plural |
|---|---|
| en tomat (a tomato) | tomater (tomatoes) |
| en station (a station) | stationer (stations) |
| en maskin (a machine) | maskiner (machines) |
Notice how many of these words sound similar to English or other European languages.
| We eat bananas in the morning. | Vi äter bananer på morgonen. |
| The man buys tomatoes. | Mannen köper tomater. |
| Many students live here. | Många studenter bor här. |
Vowels: Adding -r
If a Group 3 noun ends in a vowel, you simply add -r to make it plural.
| Indefinite singular | Indefinite plural |
|---|---|
| en sko (a shoe) | skor (shoes) |
| I buy many shoes. | Jag köper många skor. |
| We need shoes. | Vi behöver skor. |
Using Group 3 Plurals
Here are a few more examples of Group 3 nouns in action. Remember to look out for words ending in suffixes like -ion, -ent, and -ik—they are very often Group 3 plurals!
| They need tickets for the train. | De behöver biljetter till tåget. |
| The city has several stations. | Staden har flera stationer. |
| We have many shops in the city. | Vi har många butiker i staden. |
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