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Questions & Answers about Trädet är dött.
Why is it dött instead of död?
Because trädet (the tree) is an ett word (ett träd). In Swedish, adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. When describing an ett word, the adjective usually gets a -t at the end.
If the base word is död, shouldn't adding a -t make it dödt?
That is a logical guess, but Swedish spelling rules rarely allow -dt at the end of an adjective. Instead, the d changes to a t, giving us the double -tt in dött. This spelling change also tells you to pronounce the ö sound shorter.
Why does trädet end in -et?
The basic word for a tree is ett träd. To make it definite (the tree), you add -et to the end because it is an ett word that ends in a consonant.