Breakdown of Vilket mörkt och stökigt kontor!
och
and
vilket
which (ett) / what a (ett-word, exclamatory)
kontoret
the office
mörk
dark
Questions & Answers about Vilket mörkt och stökigt kontor!
Why does the sentence start with vilket instead of vilken?
Because the noun it refers to, kontor (office), is an ett-word (ett kontor). In exclamations, you must match the gender of the noun, so we use the neuter form vilket.
Why do both mörkt and stökigt end in -t?
Adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun they describe. Since kontor is an ett-word, the base adjectives mörk (dark) and stökig (messy) both get the neuter -t ending.
The English translation says 'What a...', but there is no ett in the Swedish sentence. Why?
In Swedish, you never use the indefinite article (en or ett) after vilken or vilket in exclamatory phrases. You just put the adjective and noun directly after it: Vilket mörkt kontor!
Why is kontor in the indefinite form instead of the definite form (kontoret)?
Exclamations with vilken, vilket, or vilka always take the indefinite form of the noun. It works just like English, where we say 'What a messy office!' rather than 'What a messy the office!'.