This lesson introduces denna and detta for this depending on noun gender, and dessa for the plural, alongside den and det for that. It pairs these with the här/där versus hit/dit distinction and practises questions built with varför (why).
Vocabulary in this lesson
- att
- to (infinitive marker)
- bil
- car
- bilar
- cars
- den
- it / that (common)
- denna
- this (common)
- dessa
- these
- det
- it / that (neuter)
- detta
- this (neuter)
- dit
- There (movement).
- dom
- Those/They/Them.
- du
- you (singular)
- där
- there
- ha
- to have
- han
- he
- har
- have / has
- hit
- Here (movement).
- hus
- house
- här
- here
- idé
- idea
- inte
- not
- jag
- I
- kan
- can / to be able to
- komma
- to come
- kunna
- can / to be able to
- ni
- you (plural)
- vara
- to be
- varför
- why
- varit
- Have been
- vill
- want / wants
Transcript
The full transcript of this free lesson. Swedish lines have their English translation underneath.
Okay, so let's look at the complete list now of things. When we're trying to demonstrate, let's look at the complete list of words that we need. So, how would you say "here"? Här.
What about "here", and it's about movement? So, "Can you come here?", for instance.
Hit. To say "this", "this", there are two words: denna or detta. So, denna bil, detta hus.
En bil, ett hus. So, once again, related to en or ett. So, to say "these" in plural, you would say dessa. Dessa bilar, dessa hus.
So, it doesn't matter if it's en or ett. So, what was the word for "there"? We're talking about a stationary situation where nothing is moving. Där. What about "there", and we have movement?
Dit. Dit. Han är där. He is there. Jag kommer dit. I'm coming there.
To say "that", as in you're pointing to something, for instance, you're in a store and you say "that", to say "that", you can say den or det. If you're confused about which one to use, it's similar to what we've talked about before. So, if you're talking like about a specific object, you would use den. So, for instance, you're in a store, you want to point at something and you want to say, "I want to have that." How would you say that?
"I want to have that." Jag vill ha den. So, you would use den because it's very specific. It's an object that's in front of you. Jag vill ha den. So, when you're talking about something and you're just pointing – it could be any object you're pointing at – you just use den.
Det, once again, is used when you're talking about like an abstract thing. Like, "That was a good idea." It's not a specific object, an idea. you would say, "Det var." "It was." "Det var en bra idé." "It was a good idea." But if you're talking about a specific object, you say den.
So to say, "those"— "those"— that's very easy because it's de. De, which of course you recognize. What else can be de?
De is of course "they." So to say "those" and "they" and even "them," you say de, in all of those cases. So in one way, that's easier, of course, because you only have to think about one word: de. So, once again, how do you say, "I want to have this"?
"Jag vill ha denna" or it can be detta as well. So if you're talking about an object in general, you can say denna, so "jag vill ha denna." But if you continue on the sentence, then it has to correspond with the correct en or ett. So for instance, "Jag vill ha denna bil." So, but if you're going to say "house," you can't say denna.
Instead, you would say, "Jag vill ha detta hus." "Do you want to have this"? "Vill du ha denna?" "Why do you want to have this"? So to say "why," you say varför.
"Varför vill du ha denna?" "Varför vill du ha denna?" Okay, so, "Why don't you want to have this"?
So this one time think about where to place the "not." "Varför vill du inte ha denna?" So we said the inte, the placement of inte is optional. You have two different ways where you can put it. So where's the other place where you could put this instead of saying "Varför vill du inte ha denna?" What's the other way of saying it?
"Varför vill inte du ha denna?" "Varför vill inte du ha denna?" Do you remember the word for "to can" or "to be able to"?
att kunna And of course, when you change the verb, what do you get then?
kan jag kan, han kan So how would you say "can you come here"?
"Kan du komma hit?" And of course, the plural, how would you say the plural? So, "can you, people," "can you guys"?
"Kan ni komma hit?" And it's important you say "hit" and not "här" - "kan du komma här". If you say that, people will understand what you're saying, but it does sound off. So as soon as you have movement, you need to say "hit" or "dit", depending on if it's "here" or "there".
"They have been here." So, "been" - if you're unsure about "been", it's actually irregular. So, "to be" - do you remember the word "to be"?
att vara And you have to say "been", then you would say "har varit", "har varit", have been. So, how do you say "they have been here"?
"De har varit här." What about if you ask someone "Have you been there? Have you been there?" "Har du varit där?" And you don't use "dit" because it's not movement. You're talking about where you've been.
"Har du varit där?"