Breakdown of Den djupa sjön är mycket kall.
vara
to be
mycket
much / very
kall
cold
den
the (with en-words)
djup
deep
sjön
the lake
Questions & Answers about Den djupa sjön är mycket kall.
Why do we need both Den and the -n at the end of sjön?
This is called double definiteness. When a definite noun has an adjective, Swedish requires both a separate word for 'the' (Den for en-words) and the definite ending attached to the noun (-n in sjön).
Why does djupa end in -a, but kall does not?
When an adjective comes between the free article (Den) and the definite noun (sjön), it gets the definite ending -a. However, kall comes after the verb är (is). In this position, it acts as an indefinite adjective and simply matches the en-word sjö, leaving it as just kall.
Doesn't mycket usually mean 'much' or 'a lot'?
It does! But when you put mycket directly in front of an adjective like kall, it translates to 'very'. So mycket kall means 'very cold'.
How do we know to use Den instead of Det at the start of the sentence?
The word for lake is en sjö, which is an en-word. Because of this, we use the en-word article Den to say 'the'. If the noun were a det-word, we would use Det instead.
Learn Den djupa sjön är mycket kall and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free