Breakdown of Min pappa är femtio år gammal.
vara
to be
året
the year
gammal
old
min
my (min/mitt/mina)
pappan
the father
femtio
fifty
Questions & Answers about Min pappa är femtio år gammal.
Why doesn't the word for years change to a plural form here?
The Swedish word for year is ett år. In Swedish, ett words (neuter nouns) that end in a consonant look exactly the same in the plural as they do in the singular. So ett år means one year, and femtio år means fifty years.
Why do we use min instead of mitt for my?
The word for my has to match the gender of the noun it describes. Since dad is an en word (en pappa), we use min. If we were talking about an ett word, like a child (ett barn), we would use mitt.
Can I leave out år gammal and just say my dad is fifty?
Yes! Exactly like in English, it is very common and completely natural to shorten the sentence and just say Min pappa är femtio.
Does the word gammal change depending on who we are talking about?
Yes. Adjectives describe nouns, and in Swedish their endings change to match the gender and number of that noun. Because pappa is a singular en word, we use the basic form gammal. If the noun were plural, like parents, we would use the plural form gamla.
Learn Min pappa är femtio år gammal 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