2025.08.23

Swedish Grammar #43: Indefinite Pronouns ingen / inget / inga

Haruno

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In Swedish, there are indefinite pronouns that express the idea of “no one,” “nothing,” or “none at all.” These are ingen / inget / inga. They correspond to English words such as no one, nothing, or no, and their form changes depending on the gender and number of the noun they modify.

In this lesson, I will explain how to use ingen / inget / inga and highlight some important points to keep in mind.

Contents

1. Forms and Basic Rules
2. Modifying a Noun
3. Used on Their Own
4. Relation to the Negative Word inte
5. Comparison with the Affirmative Forms
6. Summary

1. Forms and Basic Rules

The indefinite pronouns ingen / inget / inga carry the meaning of “no one,” “nothing,” or “none.” They are used differently depending on the gender (common / neuter) and number (singular / plural) of the noun they modify.

Form	Meaning	Noun Type	Example
ingen	no one / none	Common gender, singular	ingen bok (no book)
inget	nothing / none	Neuter gender, singular	inget hus (no house)
inga	no one / none	Plural nouns	inga böcker (no books)

2. Modifying a Noun

The most basic use is to place ingen / inget / inga directly before a noun.
In this case, the meaning is “there is no …” or “there are no …”.

Ingen man kom.
(No man came / No one came)
Inget problem är för svårt.
(No problem is too difficult)
Inga barn lekte i parken.
(No children were playing in the park)

Here, ingen / inget / inga must always precede the noun, just like no book in English.

3. Used on Their Own

These pronouns can also be used without a noun, in which case the meaning is inferred from the context.

ingen (no one): refers to people

Ingen svarade. (No one answered)
Jag känner ingen. (I know no one)

inget (nothing): refers to things or situations

Jag vet inget.
(I know nothing)
Det är inget att oroa sig för.
(There is nothing to worry about)

inga (none / no one / nothing, plural): refers to multiple people or things

Vi såg inga.
(We saw no one / nothing)
Det fanns inga kvar.
(There were none left)

4. Relation to the Negative Word inte

Since ingen / inget / inga already carry a negative meaning, they are not combined with inte. Otherwise, it results in a double negative and the sentence becomes incorrect.

✅ Ingen gillar kaffe.
(No one likes coffee)
❌ Ingen gillar kaffe inte.
(Incorrect, double negative)

5. Comparison with the Affirmative Forms

The affirmative counterparts of ingen / inget / inga are the indefinite pronouns någon / något / några.

Har du någon bok?
(Do you have a book?)
Nej, jag har ingen bok.
(No, I don’t have a book)

Learning these pairs together makes it easier to use them naturally in questions and answers.

6. Summary

ingen / inget / inga mean “no one,” “nothing,” or “none at all.”
Their form changes depending on the gender (common / neuter) and number (singular / plural) of the noun.
They can be used before a noun or on their own.
Do not combine them with inte.
Learn them alongside their affirmative forms (någon / något / några) for easier mastery.

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