Questions & Answers about Pojken har hunden.
Why is the verb har used here instead of a verb ending in -er or -ar?
Har is the present tense form of the irregular verb att ha (to have). It is one of a few very common verbs that do not follow the standard rules. Unlike regular verbs that get an -ar or -er ending in the present tense, you just have to memorize that har is the present tense form for 'have' or 'has'.
Why does pojken only add an -n to mean 'the', but hunden adds -en?
In Swedish, the word for 'the' is attached to the end of the noun. Both pojke (boy) and hund (dog) are en words. Because pojke already ends in a vowel, you just add -n to get pojken. Because hund ends in a consonant, you add the full -en ending to get hunden.
If we changed the subject to 'I' or 'they', would the verb har change?
No, it would not! In Swedish, verbs do not change form depending on the subject. Whether the subject is pojken (the boy), jag (I), or de (they), the verb is always har. This makes Swedish verbs much easier to conjugate than English ones.
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