Breakdown of Den äldre herren drack sällan kaffe.
kaffet
the coffee
dricka
to drink
sällan
rarely
gammal
old
den
the (with en-words)
herren
the gentleman
Questions & Answers about Den äldre herren drack sällan kaffe.
Does äldre mean he is older than someone else in this context?
Not necessarily. This is called an absolute comparative. In Swedish, using the comparative form like äldre (older) often describes a moderate degree of the adjective without a direct comparison. Here, Den äldre herren simply means the elderly gentleman. It is actually considered a bit softer and more polite than calling him Den gamla herren (the old gentleman).
Why doesn't the adjective end in -a since it follows the definite article Den?
You are right to expect an -a ending for an adjective in a definite phrase. However, comparative adjectives in Swedish are an exception. They always end in -e or -re (like äldre), and they never change their endings to match gender, plurality, or definiteness.
Why does sällan (rarely) come after the verb drack?
In a main clause, Swedish strictly follows the V2 rule, meaning the verb is the second piece of information. Sentence adverbs that modify the whole sentence, like sällan (rarely), ofta (often), or inte (not), typically come right after that verb.
Why is the word for gentleman herren instead of herr?
herr is used as a title before a name, like Mr. (for example, Herr Andersson). When talking about a gentleman as a regular noun, the base word is en herre. Because it already ends in an -e, it just adds an -n to become the definite form herren (the gentleman).
Learn Den äldre herren drack sällan kaffe and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free