Breakdown of Det stängda naturreservatet skyddar en hotad fågel.
en
a, an (common)
fågeln
the bird
det
the (with ett-words)
stängd
closed
skydda
to protect
hota
to threaten
naturreservatet
the nature reserve
Questions & Answers about Det stängda naturreservatet skyddar en hotad fågel.
Why does the past participle stängda end in -a here?
It is acting as an adjective in a definite noun phrase (Det ... naturreservatet). When a past participle is placed before a definite noun, it takes the definite adjective ending -a, just like a normal adjective would.
Why do we use hotad instead of hotat for the threatened bird?
Fågel is an en-word (en fågel). When a past participle acts as an adjective for an indefinite en-word, it takes the en-word ending. Since the verb hota (to threaten) is a Group 1 verb, its en-word past participle ends in -d (hotad).
What happens to the ending of stängda if we change the sentence to "A closed nature reserve"?
It would change to ett stängt naturreservat. Because naturreservat is an ett-word, the past participle must take the ett-word ending -t when the phrase is indefinite. Stänga is a Group 2 verb, so its base past participle is stängd, which becomes stängt for indefinite ett-words.
If we wanted to say "the threatened bird" instead of "a threatened bird", how would en hotad fågel change?
It would become den hotade fågeln. When a Group 1 past participle like hotad is used in a definite noun phrase, it takes the definite ending -e (added to the -ad, making it -ade).
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