Breakdown of Den snabba Superman är en superhjälte som kan flyga.
vara
to be
en
a, an (common)
snabb
fast
kunna
to be able to, can
den
the (with en-words)
flyga
to fly
som
who / which / that (relative pronoun)
Superman
Superman
superhjälten
the superhero
Questions & Answers about Den snabba Superman är en superhjälte som kan flyga.
Why is it Den snabba Superman without a definite suffix on the name, instead of Den snabba Supermanen?
This is a special rule for proper nouns like names of people or places. When you describe a proper noun with an adjective, you must use the free definite article (den or det) and add the definite -a ending to the adjective. However, unlike regular nouns, the proper noun itself does not take a definite suffix at the end.
Since Superman is male, could the adjective take the masculine -e ending here, making it Den snabbe Superman?
Yes, absolutely! When modifying a noun that refers to a male person, you can use the masculine definite ending -e instead of the standard -a. Both Den snabba Superman and Den snabbe Superman are correct, but the -e ending is very common and natural here.
Why is "who" translated as som instead of vem in this sentence?
In Swedish, som is the relative pronoun used to link a clause back to a noun, covering "who", "which", and "that" in English. The word vem also means "who", but it is strictly an interrogative pronoun used for asking questions, never for connecting clauses.
The word for superhero is superhjälte. How would you form the plural "superheroes"?
The base word hjälte (hero) is an en-word that ends in a vowel. To form the plural, you drop the final -e and add -ar, making it superhjältar.
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