Breakdown of Vi behöver en ny ordförande.
vi
we
en
a, an (common)
behöva
to need
ny
new
ordföranden
the chairperson
Questions & Answers about Vi behöver en ny ordförande.
Since this lesson is about using som for roles, how would I use it with this sentence?
You could use it to specify who you need "as" a chairperson. For example, Vi behöver dig som ordförande (We need you as chairperson). In Swedish, the conjunction som is the standard way to express that someone is functioning in a specific role or title.
Ordförande ends in -ande. Is it a verb form?
It originally comes from a verb, but here it acts entirely as a noun. Nouns ending in -ande or -ende that refer to people (like ordförande or studerande) have a special rule: their indefinite singular and plural forms are exactly the same. So "one chairperson" is en ordförande and "two chairpersons" is två ordförande.
If the singular and plural forms of ordförande are exactly the same, how do we make the adjective ny plural?
The adjective still follows the normal plural rules, which helps clarify that you are talking about multiple people! "A new chairperson" is en ny ordförande, but if you needed "new chairpersons", you would add the plural -a to the adjective: nya ordförande.
How do I say "the chairperson" in the definite form?
For these -ande words that describe people, you just add an -n to the end for the definite singular. So "the chairperson" becomes ordföranden. If you need the definite plural ("the chairpersons"), you add -na to the base word: ordförandena.
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