"It is a moose."

Translation: Det är en älg.

[OrangeVarg]

So you could say that "det" in this case is more general and "den" would be a specific moose?

[sojinjung]

I thought that for an en- noun, the pronoun should be Den. Why is Det used here?

[Anders91]

If we use "den" here, we are being very specific that that very moose right there, is a moose. Using "det" is just expressing that there's a moose.

For example:

• Det är en älg i skogen. (There's a moose in the forest.)
• Den är en älg. (That one is a moose.)

This must feel very complicated to a non-native speaker. I think you will get a lot better feel for the differences between these two with practice. This one of those weird things that a native speaker doesn't even think about.

[philallthethings]

So apparently in Swedish älg is both elk and moose!

[BemusedMoose]

As far as i know, they are the same animal. Just European(English) and North American names for it.

[JoshuaLigh11]

Enjoying my lessons