Questions & Answers about Är hunden tretton år?
Why isn't there a word for "old" in the Swedish sentence?
In English, we usually say "thirteen years old", but in Swedish, it is very common to just say tretton år (thirteen years) when talking about age. You could add gammal (old) at the end, but it is not required!
Why isn't the word år in the plural form here since it means thirteen years?
År actually is plural here! In Swedish, "ett" words (neuter nouns) that end in a consonant usually do not change their spelling when they become plural. So, ett år is one year, and tretton år is thirteen years.
How does hunden translate to "the dog"?
In Swedish, you do not use a separate word for "the". Instead, you add an ending to the noun. En hund means a dog, and adding the -en ending makes it hunden, meaning the dog.
How does the word order make this a question?
Just like in English, you form a simple yes/no question by putting the verb before the subject. The statement "The dog is" is Hunden är, so swapping them to Är hunden makes it a question.