Question 1

Why use the singular article en before the plural phrase femtio demonstranter?

Accepted Answer

Placing the singular en directly in front of a number is a common way to express an approximate amount in Swedish. It translates to "about" or "roughly," so en femtio demonstranter means "about fifty demonstrators."

Question 2

Since en usually means "a" or "one," does it change to ett if the noun is an ett-word?

Accepted Answer

No, it always stays en in this specific construction. Here, en acts more like an invariable adverb meaning "approximately" rather than a normal article. For example, you would still say en femtio träd (about fifty trees), even though träd is an ett-word.

Question 3

If I want to add an adjective like "angry" (arg), do I use the singular or plural form?

Accepted Answer

You must use the plural form, arga, because the core noun in the phrase is the plural demonstranter. The full phrase would be en femtio arga demonstranter. The word en only affects the number, not the grammatical agreement of the noun phrase.

Question 4

English treats "police" as a plural noun. Is kravallpolisen plural in Swedish?

Accepted Answer

No, kravallpolisen is singular. It is a compound of kravall (riot) and the definite singular noun polisen (the police). Swedish treats the police force as a single collective entity. While this doesn't change the verb form, it means you would refer back to the police later using the singular pronoun den, not the plural de.

En femtio demonstranter går mot kravallpolisen.

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