2025.08.14 2025.08.15

Swedish Grammar #2: Personal Pronouns

Haruno

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When forming sentences in Swedish, personal pronouns are essential. These are words such as “I,” “you,” “he,” “we,” etc., used in place of nouns to refer to people or things.

In this lesson, I will explain the forms and usage of Swedish personal pronouns, focusing on how to use them naturally as the subject of a sentence.

Contents

1. What Are Personal Pronouns?
2. Swedish Subject-Form Personal Pronouns
3. Example Sentences with Personal Pronouns
4. Using den and det
5. Written vs. Spoken Form: de and dom
6. Summary

1. What Are Personal Pronouns?

Personal pronouns are pronouns used in place of a person’s or object’s name within a sentence.

For example, consider the sentence:

Anna är läkare. (Anna is a doctor)

When creating a second sentence, instead of repeating the noun Anna, you can use Hon (she): Anna är läkare. Hon är snäll. (Anna is a doctor. She is kind)

This is essential for avoiding repetition in conversation or writing and for keeping communication smooth.

In Swedish, personal pronouns have different forms for subjects (nominative) and objects (objective). In this lesson, we will focus only on subject-form personal pronouns.

2. Swedish Subject-Form Personal Pronouns

Below is the list of personal pronouns used as subjects in Swedish.

Person	Pronoun	Meaning	Notes
1st person singular	jag	I	Equivalent to English “I”
2nd person singular	du	you	Used with familiar persons
3rd person singular (masc.)	han	he	Used for males
3rd person singular (fem.)	hon	she	Used for females
3rd person singular (neut.)	den / det	it (things, animals, etc.)	Chosen based on the gender of the noun (common / neuter)
1st person plural	vi	we	Equivalent to English “we”
2nd person plural	ni	you (plural)	Equivalent to English “you” (plural)
3rd person plural	de	they	Written form is de; in speech, pronounced dom

Point

den / det corresponds to English it and is used for non-human nouns. The choice depends on the noun’s gender (common or neuter).
de is written as de, but the standard pronunciation is dom.

3. Example Sentences with Personal Pronouns

In Swedish, the basic word order is Subject (personal pronoun) + Verb + Other elements. This is similar to English and quite straightforward.

Singular examples:

Jag är student. (I am a student)
Du bor i Stockholm. (You live in Stockholm)
Han är läkare. / Hon är lärare. (He is a doctor / She is a teacher)
Den är gammal. / Det är nytt. (It (common gender) is old / It (neuter) is new)

Plural examples:

Vi är glada. (We are happy)
Ni pratar svenska. (You speak Swedish)
De är här. (They are here)
→ Pronounced dom

4. Using den and det

In Swedish, the pronouns den and det are used depending on the gender (common / neuter) of the noun they replace.

While English it does not change form for gender, Swedish does.

Noun	Gender	Pronoun	Example
en bok (a book)	common	den	Den är intressant. (It is interesting)
ett hus (a house)	neuter	det	Det är stort. (It is big)

Tip

When learning Swedish nouns, remember to learn them together with their article (en / ett). This will help you choose the correct pronoun naturally.

5. Written vs. Spoken Form: de and dom

The third-person plural pronoun meaning “they” is written as de, but in spoken Swedish it is generally pronounced dom.

De är hemma. (They are at home)
→ Pronunciation: dom är hemma

Note

In writing: use de
In speech: pronounce as dom

In written text, de must be used, but in everyday conversation, dom is the natural pronunciation.

6. Summary

Swedish personal pronouns, like in English, refer to “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” etc., and form the basis of sentence structure as subjects.
For non-human nouns, use den or det according to the noun’s gender.
de is the written form for “they,” but in speech it is typically pronounced dom.

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