Breakdown of Insekterna är små och snabba.
vara
to be
och
and
snabb
fast
insekten
the insect
små
small (plural)
Questions & Answers about Insekterna är små och snabba.
Why is the word for 'small' små instead of liten?
Because adjectives in Swedish must agree with the noun they describe. The adjective liten is highly irregular. For singular en-words you use liten, for ett-words you use litet, and for all plural words, like insekterna here, the word completely changes to små.
Why does snabb become snabba but we do not say småa?
Regular adjectives like snabb (fast) simply add an -a to become plural, giving us snabba to match the plural noun insekterna. However, the plural of liten is already små, so you never add an extra -a to it.
How is the word insekterna built from its singular form?
It comes from the singular word en insekt. The basic plural form is insekter (insects). To make it definite (the insects), we add the plural definite ending -na to the end, resulting in insekterna.
If I wanted to say 'The small insects are fast', would små change?
No, it stays exactly the same! You would say De små insekterna är snabba. When the adjective comes directly before a definite noun, you must add the separate plural article de (the), but the plural adjective små never changes.
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