Questions & Answers about Hon läser många namn i boken.
Why is the plural word for "names" just namn without any extra ending?
Namn is an ett word that ends in a consonant (ett namn). In Swedish, these nouns belong to Group 5 and do not change their form when they become plural. So, "one name" is ett namn, and "many names" is många namn.
How do we know namn is plural here if the word doesn't change?
The word många ("many") gives it away! Swedish relies on context clues like number words or adjectives to show when a zero-plural noun is being used as a plural.
Does the word många change depending on the noun's gender?
No, många stays exactly the same whether it is used with an en word or an ett word.
Is boken plural as well?
No, boken is singular. It means "the book". Swedish adds the ending -en to most en words to make them definite ("the"). If she were reading in "the books", the word would be böckerna.
Can läser mean "is reading"?