Questions & Answers about De blå långkalsongerna är varmare än de röda.
Since a pair of long johns is a single garment, why does it have the plural ending -na?
Just like in English, långkalsonger (long johns) is a plurale tantum—a noun that is generally treated as grammatically plural, even when talking about one garment. Because it is plural, it takes the definite plural suffix -na, and it requires the plural article de and the plural adjective blå.
How would I count these if I wanted to say "two blue long johns" or "the two blue long johns"?
Because långkalsonger functions as a plural, you can't place a number directly in front of it to count individual garments. You have to count them using the word par (pair). You would say två par blå långkalsonger for the indefinite, and de två paren blå långkalsonger for the definite.
Why is the adjective blå used here instead of the expected plural form blåa?
For colors ending in a vowel, like blå and grå, the plural and definite form can be either blå or blåa. Both are completely correct, but the shorter form blå is much more common in written Swedish, while blåa is frequently used in everyday speech.
How does Swedish translate "the red ones" at the end of the sentence?