One Adjective With Its Own Definite Form
You just learned that liten (small) is irregular: liten with en-words, litet with ett-words, små in the plural.
It has one more surprise. Every other adjective takes -a in the definite form — den stora bilen, det stora huset. But liten does not become litena: it has its own special definite form, lilla:
| indefinite | definite | |
|---|---|---|
| en-word | en liten bil | den lilla bilen |
| ett-word | ett litet hus | det lilla huset |
| plural | små barn | de små barnen |
Lilla is used for BOTH genders in the singular — wherever the definite -a form would go: after den/det, and after possessives and genitives.
| The little girl is reading a book. | Den lilla flickan läser en bok. |
| The little house is red. | Det lilla huset är rött. |
After Possessives Too
Remember that adjectives take the definite form after a possessive (mitt stora hus). The same happens with lilla:
| My little child is sleeping. | Mitt lilla barn sover. |
The Plural Stays små
In the plural — definite or not — the form is always små:
| The small children are tired. | De små barnen är trötta. |
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