Breakdown of Den kloke mannen berättade allt.
mannen
the man
berätta
to tell
allt
everything / all (neuter)
den
the (with en-words)
klok
wise
Questions & Answers about Den kloke mannen berättade allt.
Why is the adjective kloke instead of kloka?
Usually, when an adjective goes with a definite noun, it ends in -a. But when referring to a male person, like mannen (the man), Swedish often uses the special masculine ending -e instead. Both kloke and kloka are grammatically correct here, but -e is very traditional and common for men.
Why do we use both Den and the -en ending on mannen?
This is the Swedish 'double definite' rule. When you describe a definite noun with an adjective, you need a separate word for 'the' (den for en-words) plus the definite ending on the noun itself (-en). It translates literally to 'The wise man-the'.
How can I tell what verb group berättade belongs to?
The base form (infinitive) is att berätta (to tell). Since the base form ends in -a, it belongs to the very common Group 1 of Swedish verbs. Group 1 verbs always form the past tense by simply adding -de to the infinitive, making it berättade.
Why is the word for 'everything' allt here rather than alla?
Allt is the neuter form of the word 'all', and it is used on its own to mean 'everything'. If the sentence meant that he told 'everyone', you would use the plural form alla instead.
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