Breakdown of Anna tycker att vår gulliga kusin är trevlig.
vara
to be
vår
our (vår/vårt/våra)
trevlig
nice (pleasant, friendly)
Anna
Anna
Questions & Answers about Anna tycker att vår gulliga kusin är trevlig.
Why is it gulliga instead of gullig?
In Swedish, when an adjective comes after a possessive word like vår (our), it must take the definite form. For most adjectives, this means adding an -a to the end. So, the basic adjective gullig becomes gulliga.
If gulliga is in the definite form, why is kusin in the indefinite form? Shouldn't it be kusinen?
This is a special rule for possessives! After a possessive word like vår (our), min (my), or a name with an -s (like Annas), the adjective gets the definite -a ending, but the noun must stay in its basic, indefinite form. So it is vår gulliga kusin, never vår gulliga kusinen.
Why doesn't trevlig get an -a at the end like gulliga did?
Trevlig (nice) describes the cousin, but it comes after the verb är (is). The rule about adding an -a after a possessive only applies to adjectives placed directly in front of the noun. Because trevlig is separated from the noun by a verb, it just follows the normal rule of matching the noun's gender and number. Since kusin is a singular en-word, we use the basic form trevlig.
Why do we use here instead of ?