Questions & Answers about Vilka hemska och konstiga ljud!
Why do we use vilka instead of vilken or vilket in this sentence?
Vilka is the plural form. We use it here because it goes with the plural noun ljud (sounds). When making exclamatory phrases, you must match the word for 'What' to the noun's gender and number.
Does vilka always translate to 'What' in English? I learned it means 'Which' or 'Who'.
In standard questions, vilka usually means 'which' or 'who'. However, when used in an exclamation before an adjective and a noun, the whole family of words (vilken, vilket, vilka) translates to 'What a...' or 'What...!' in English.
How can we tell that ljud is plural here? It looks exactly like the singular form.
Ljud is an ett word that ends in a consonant (ett ljud). These types of words don't change their spelling in the plural indefinite form (one sound = ett ljud, multiple sounds = ljud). We know it is plural in this sentence because of the plural word vilka and the -a endings on the adjectives.
Why do both hemsk and konstig get an -a added to the end?
Adjectives in Swedish need to match the number of the noun they describe. Since ljud is plural here, both adjectives take the plural -a ending to become hemska and konstiga.