What you will learn
You can talk about more than one thing with the plural of nouns, also after a number.
Five patterns
A Swedish noun has its own form for two or more. Most nouns follow one of five patterns.
| Ending | One | Two or more | Which nouns |
|---|---|---|---|
| -or | en flaska | två flaskor | Most en-words that end in a. The a goes away. |
| -ar | en kopp | två koppar | Many en-words. A final e goes away, as in en påse, två påsar. |
| -er | en banan | två bananer | Many en-words. A few that end in a vowel add only r, as in en sko, två skor. |
| -n | ett äpple | två äpplen | Most ett-words that end in a vowel. Kafé is one that takes -er instead, två kaféer. |
| no ending | ett glas | två glas | Ett-words that end in a consonant, and en-words that end in -are, as in en lärare, två lärare |
This lesson is about the plural without the ending for the, such as koppar (cups). The plural with the ending for the comes in chapter 8.
How to guess
| If the noun is | The plural is usually | Example |
|---|---|---|
| an en-word that ends in a | -or | en kaka, två kakor |
| an ett-word that ends in a vowel | -n | ett kvitto, två kvitton |
| an ett-word that ends in a consonant | no ending | ett kort, två kort |
| another en-word | -ar or -er | en smörgås, två smörgåsar, en tomat, två tomater |
For the last group there is no sure rule, so learn the plural together with the word. The vocabulary page gives the plural of every noun you can count.
Plurals that change more
| One | Two or more | English |
|---|---|---|
| en man | två män | men |
| en bok | två böcker | books |
| en bror | två bröder | brothers |
| en son | två söner | sons |
| en natt | två nätter | nights |
| en dotter | två döttrar | daughters |
| en nyckel | två nycklar | keys |
| ett kilo | två kilo | kilos |
Man, bok, bror, son, natt and dotter change a vowel. Dotter, syster, nyckel and cykel lose an e before the ending, as in döttrar, systrar, nycklar and cyklar. Kilo stays the same after a number.
You already know three nouns that keep their form, barn, år and rum, as in två barn and nio år. They follow the pattern with no ending.
After a number
After en or ett the noun has the form for one. After two or more it has the plural form.
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| Jag köper tre tomater. | I buy three tomatoes. |
| Greta köper två flaskor mjölk. | Greta buys two bottles of milk. |
| Ett kilo äpplen kostar trettio kronor. | A kilo of apples costs 30 kronor. |
| Tariq har två bröder. | Tariq has two brothers. |
Swedish needs no word for of in två flaskor mjölk and ett kilo äpplen.
Mina and dina
Before a plural noun, min becomes mina and din becomes dina. Hans, hennes and hens stay the same.
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| mina nycklar | my keys |
| dina böcker | your books |
| hans skor | his shoes |
Common mistakes
| Not like this | Like this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| två kopp | två koppar | After a number above one, use the plural. |
| tre äpplar | tre äpplen | Äpple is an ett-word that ends in a vowel, so it takes -n. |
| två glaser | två glas | Glas is an ett-word that ends in a consonant, so it takes no ending. |
| två bokar | två böcker | Bok has its own plural with ö. |
| två mannar | två män | Man has its own short plural. |