Breakdown of Skidbyxorna är stora, så jag behöver ett par hängslen.
jag
I
vara
to be
ett
a, an (neuter)
stor
big
Questions & Answers about Skidbyxorna är stora, så jag behöver ett par hängslen.
Why do we say ett par hängslen instead of using an article like ett hängsle?
Words for garments with two parts, like hängslen (suspenders) and byxor (pants), function as "pluralia tantum" in this context—nouns that exist primarily in the plural. To count them in Swedish, you use the quantifier ett par (a pair of) directly followed by the plural noun. Notice that Swedish does not use a preposition like "of" in between.
Even if I am only talking about one pair of ski pants, why is the adjective stora instead of stor?
Because skidbyxorna is grammatically plural, any adjectives describing it must also agree and take the plural form, which ends in -a. The grammatical plural strictly overrides the physical reality of it being a single garment, so you must use the plural adjective stora.
The word hängslen ends in -en. Is it in the definite form here?
No, it is in the indefinite plural form. The singular base word is ett hängsle (one suspender strap). Because it is an ett-word that ends in a vowel, its plural indefinite form is made by adding -n, resulting in hängslen. Its definite plural would be hängslena.
Why is the word order så jag behöver rather than så behöver jag? Doesn't the verb usually come in the second position?