Word
Familjen har fem barn.
Meaning
The family has five children.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Familjen har fem barn.
Why is "The family" translated as just one word, Familjen?
In Swedish, "the" usually isn't a separate word that comes before the noun. Instead, it gets attached to the end of the word. The basic word for "family" is familj. Because it is an en-word, you add -en to the end to get familjen (the family).
Does barn mean "child" or "children"?
It can mean both! In Swedish, barn is an ett-word (a noun that takes ett for "a" or "an"). Ett-words that end in a consonant don't add a plural ending. Because of this, ett barn is "one child", and fem barn is "five children".
Does the verb har change depending on who the subject is?
No, and that makes Swedish verbs very easy to learn! Unlike English, which switches between "have" and "has", the Swedish present tense verb stays exactly the same no matter who is doing the action. It is always har.
How do you pronounce the 'j' in familjen?
In Swedish, the letter 'j' sounds like the English 'y'. So, familjen is pronounced somewhat like "fa-MILL-yen".