Questions & Answers about De stora städerna har många höga kullar.
How does the word for city change to become städerna?
The singular word for city is en stad. In the plural, the main vowel changes from a to ä, making the indefinite plural städer (cities). To make it definite (the cities), we add -na to get städerna. This vowel change is called stem vowel mutation, and you will see it in several common irregular nouns.
Why are both De and -na used in De stora städerna?
This is a great example of Swedish double definiteness. When a definite noun like städerna (the cities) has an adjective in front of it, you must also add a free-standing definite article before the adjective. For plural nouns, that article is De. So it literally translates to 'the large cities-the'.
Why do the adjectives stora and höga both end in -a?
In Swedish, adjectives must change to match the noun they describe. Because both städerna (the cities) and kullar (hills) are plural nouns, their adjectives take the plural form. For most adjectives, you just add an -a to the end, which turns stor into stora and hög into höga.
Is kullar also an irregular plural like städer?