Breakdown of De har sjutton katter och arton hundar.
de
they
och
and
hunden
the dog
katten
the cat
ha
to have
sjutton
seventeen
arton
eighteen
Questions & Answers about De har sjutton katter och arton hundar.
Why do I often hear Swedish speakers say 'dom' instead of De?
In written Swedish, de means 'they'. However, in everyday spoken Swedish, almost everyone pronounces it as 'dom'. It is a great habit to get used to saying 'dom' when you read de out loud!
Both katter and hundar are plural, so why do they have different endings (-er vs -ar)?
In Swedish, most nouns that use en (like en hund and en katt) form their plurals by adding either -ar or -er. Hund takes -ar to become hundar, while katt takes -er to become katter. You simply have to memorize the plural ending when you learn a new noun.
Since De is plural ('they'), shouldn't the verb har change like it does in English?
Good news! Swedish verbs never change depending on who is doing the action. Whether it is 'I', 'she', or 'they', the present tense verb for 'have' is always exactly the same: har.
How do you pronounce the sj at the start of sjutton?
The sj combination makes the famous Swedish sje-sound. To an English speaker, it sounds a bit like a mix between 'sh' and a softly blown 'h' made deeper in the back of the mouth. It takes practice, but substituting it with a regular English 'sh' sound is perfectly fine while you are learning!
Is och pronounced exactly how it is spelled with a hard 'k' sound?
Almost never in normal conversation! Most Swedes just drop the consonants and pronounce och as a short 'å' sound (similar to the 'aw' in 'saw'). So, you will usually hear this sentence spoken as 'dom har sjutton katter å arton hundar'.
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