Word
Mitt lilla barn sover.
Meaning
My little child is sleeping.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Mitt lilla barn sover.
Why use mitt instead of min here?
The noun barn (child) is an ett-word (ett barn). The word for "my" has to agree with the noun, so it becomes mitt. If you were talking about an en-word, like a dog (en hund), you would say min lilla hund.
Why is the adjective lilla used instead of litet if barn is an ett-word?
After a possessive pronoun like mitt (my), adjectives must take their definite form, which almost always ends in -a. So, even though barn is an ett-word, we use lilla instead of the indefinite neuter form litet.
If the adjective lilla is in the definite form, why isn't the noun definite too (barnet)?
This is a classic Swedish grammar rule! When you use a possessive word (like mitt, din, vår), the noun that follows must be in the indefinite form. The pattern is: possessive + definite adjective + indefinite noun (mitt lilla barn).
How do I know if sover means "sleeps" or "is sleeping"?