Questions & Answers about Vi bor i det andra huset.
Why are there two words for 'the' in det andra huset?
This is a Swedish rule often called 'double definiteness.' When a noun has an adjective before it, like andra (second), you need a standalone 'the' word (det for an ett-word) AND the 'the' ending on the noun (-et in huset). It translates literally as 'the second the-house.'
I thought andra meant 'other'? Does it also mean 'second'?
Yes! Andra can mean both 'other' and 'second.' You can usually tell which one it is from the context. Here, talking about which house you live in, 'the second house' makes perfect sense.
Could I use lever instead of bor for 'live' here?
No. In Swedish, bor is used for residing or having an address somewhere. Lever means to be alive or refers to a lifestyle. Since you are talking about residing in a house, you must use bor.
Why do we use det instead of den before the adjective?
We use det because hus (house) is an ett-word (ett hus). If we were talking about an en-word, like bil (car), we would use den, as in den andra bilen (the second car).