Questions & Answers about En av dem tar sticket med rutern.
Why do we use en in en av dem instead of ett?
In partitive constructions like en av dem (one of them), the word en or ett must match the gender of the implied noun. Because they are talking about people, such as spelarna (the players) or personerna (the persons) which are en-words, we use en. If they were talking about neuter objects like korten (the cards), it would be ett av dem.
Why is it dem and not de in this phrase?
The preposition av always takes the object form of a pronoun. Even though the entire phrase en av dem acts as the subject of the sentence, the pronoun itself is governed by av, making it dem.
What does sticket mean here?
In the context of card games, ett stick means a trick, which is the set of cards played and won in one round. Since it is an ett-word, the definite form is sticket. Outside of card games, it commonly means a prick, sting, or stab.
Why does ruter become rutern here?
Ruter is the Swedish word for the suit of diamonds in a deck of cards. It is an en-word, so to say the diamond (referring to a specific diamond card played), you add the definite suffix to make it rutern. For reference, the other card suits are hjärter, spader, and klöver.