Word
Var är Eriks leksaker?
Meaning
Where are Erik's toys?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Var är Eriks leksaker?
Why is it leksaker (indefinite) instead of leksakerna (the toys) if we are talking about his specific toys?
In Swedish, when a noun comes directly after an owner ending in -s (like Eriks), it must be in the indefinite form. Even though we are talking about specific toys, you drop the definite ending after a possessive word. This is why we use the indefinite plural leksaker. This overrides the double definiteness rules you are learning!
Why isn't there an apostrophe in Eriks?
Unlike English, Swedish does not use an apostrophe to show ownership. You just add an -s directly to the name or noun. So Erik's simply becomes Eriks.
Could I use vart instead of var here?
No, because var is used for location (where something is resting), while vart is used for direction (where something is going). Since we are asking where the toys are currently located, you must use var.
How is the plural word leksaker formed?
The singular form is en leksak (a toy), which is a combination of lek (play) and sak (thing). Because it is an en-word ending in a consonant, it takes the -er suffix to become the plural leksaker.