Questions & Answers about Björnen vill äta fisken.
Why is there no word for 'to' before äta?
In Swedish, modal verbs like vill (want to) are followed directly by the infinitive form of the next verb without using att (to). So you just say vill äta, never vill att äta.
Does vill mean 'will' in the future tense?
No, this is a very common false friend! Vill always means 'want' or 'wants to'. If you want to express the future tense 'will' in Swedish, you normally use kommer att or ska.
How would I add the adjective for 'small' to describe the fish in this sentence?
Because 'the fish' is a definite noun (fisken), you must use the definite form of the adjective, which is lilla, and add the extra free-standing article den. The phrase becomes den lilla fisken (the small fish). You cannot use liten here because liten is only used with indefinite nouns, like en liten fisk (a small fish).
How do we know björnen and fisken mean 'the bear' and 'the fish'?
Swedish doesn't use a separate word for 'the' with standalone nouns. Instead, the definite article is attached to the end of the word. Since björn and fisk are both 'en' words, they take the -en suffix.
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