Breakdown of Har de otroliga bilderna försvunnit?
ha
to have
bilden
the picture
de
the (plural, before adjective)
otrolig
incredible
försvinna
to disappear
Questions & Answers about Har de otroliga bilderna försvunnit?
Why does the verb försvinna become försvunnit here?
Försvinna (to disappear) belongs to Group 4, the strong verbs. To form the supinum (the form used after har), Group 4 verbs drop their final -a and take an -it ending. They also frequently change their root vowel. Here, the i in försvinna changes to a u, giving us försvunnit.
Why do we use both de and bilderna?
This is the Swedish double definite rule. When an adjective like otroliga comes before a definite noun like bilderna, you must also add the independent definite article de (the) in front of the adjective. If there were no adjective, it would simply be Har bilderna försvunnit? (Have the pictures disappeared?).
Why does otrolig have an -a at the end in this sentence?
Adjectives take an -a ending when they describe plural nouns, and also when they are in a definite phrase. Since bilderna (the pictures) is both plural and definite, the adjective otrolig (incredible) must become otroliga.
Is the word de pronounced the way it is spelled?
No, whether it means "they" or acts as the plural definite article "the" like it does here, de is almost always pronounced as dom in everyday spoken Swedish.
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