Breakdown of Den gamla elefanten är exakt tre meter och tio centimeter hög.
vara
to be
och
and
gammal
old
hög
high / loudly
den
the (with en-words)
tre
three
tio
ten
exakt
exactly
metern
the meter
centimetern
the centimeter
elefanten
the elephant
Questions & Answers about Den gamla elefanten är exakt tre meter och tio centimeter hög.
Why does the sentence use hög instead of lång for height?
In English, we say 'tall' for both people and animals. In Swedish, lång is used for people's height, but hög is used for animals (especially four-legged ones like elephants and horses) as well as buildings and objects.
How does the grammar of the measurement phrase tre meter och tio centimeter hög work?
Just like in English, Swedish uses the pattern: Quantity + Unit of measurement + Adjective. The adjective goes at the very end to describe the dimension you are measuring, which is why hög comes after the exact numbers and units.
Why do meter and centimeter look like they are in the singular form, even though there are three and ten of them?
Many standard Swedish units of measurement, especially those ending in -er like meter, centimeter, and liter, have the exact same form in both the singular and the plural. So you say en meter but also tre meter.
Let's review: why do we need Den if elefanten already means 'the elephant'?
This sentence is a classic example of the Swedish double definite rule. Whenever you add an adjective to a definite noun, you must use a standalone definite article (Den), the definite form of the adjective (gamla), and the definite ending on the noun itself (-en).
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