Word
Ett annat ord kan ha samma betydelse.
Meaning
Another word can have the same meaning.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ett annat ord kan ha samma betydelse.
ett
a, an (neuter)
ha
to have
kunna
to be able to, can
annan
other / another (en-word)
Questions & Answers about Ett annat ord kan ha samma betydelse.
Why is it annat here instead of annan?
Because the noun it describes, ord (word), is an ett-word. The word for another/other changes to match the gender of the noun. You use en annan for en-words, ett annat for ett-words, and andra for plurals.
How would the sentence change if we wanted to say 'Other words can have the same meaning'?
It would be: Andra ord kan ha samma betydelse. The noun ord stays exactly the same because ett-words ending in a consonant don't change form in the plural. However, the determiner drops the ett and changes from annat to the plural form andra.
Why is betydelse in the indefinite form when the English translation says 'the same meaning'?
In Swedish, the word samma (same) acts as a definite marker on its own. Because of this rule, any noun that directly follows samma must stay in its indefinite form. Saying samma betydelsen is a common mistake for English speakers, but it is grammatically incorrect in Swedish.
Both betydelse and mening translate to 'meaning'. Could I use mening here instead?
In this specific context, no. Betydelse is used for the direct definition or linguistic meaning of a word or phrase. Mening refers to a broader sense of purpose (like 'the meaning of life') or translates as a grammatical 'sentence'.