Questions & Answers about Tärningen är för liten.
I know för usually means 'for', so why does this sentence translate it as 'too'?
The word för has multiple meanings. When used as a preposition, it usually means 'for'. However, when placed directly before an adjective like liten, it acts as a degree adverb meaning 'too'.
Why is the adjective liten instead of litet or små?
Adjectives in Swedish must match the noun they describe. The noun here is tärningen, which comes from the en-word en tärning. Because it is a singular en-word, we use the basic singular form liten.
The English translation says 'The dice', which can sound plural. Is tärningen a plural word?
No, tärningen is strictly singular. While 'dice' is often used as a singular noun in everyday English, in Swedish you must use the singular form when talking about a single object. If there were multiple dice, the sentence would be Tärningarna är för små.
How would the sentence change if I wanted to say the dice is 'quite' small or 'very' small?
You can simply replace the degree adverb för with the others from this lesson. You would say Tärningen är ganska liten for 'quite small' or Tärningen är väldigt liten for 'very small'.