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- "Rött är en färg."
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Why do we say rött and not röd when en färg is a common word and not neuter?
Well the adjective doesn’t have to agree with the noun since it’s not modifying the noun in this sentence. We’re stating that red is a colour, but the word colour in the sentence doesn’t have to be red, if that makes sense. When I think about it, we like talking about colours in the neuter.
- Gult är fult. (Yellow is ugly; child’s rhyme)
- Jag vill måla i grönt. (I want to paint in green.)
- Det behövs mera vitt här. (More white is needed here.)
However you can also say e.g.:
- Min favoritfärg är röd. (My favourite colour is red.)
I guess this is because the adjective modifies färg here. There is one favourite colour and it has the colour red.
Tack, this clarifies things a bit. I am thankful for all the great explanations that can be found in the comments. I hope info-examples like these will make it into the intro section of the next iteration of this module.
Rött in this sentence is not adjective it is a noun.
Both forms "Röd är en färg" and "Rött är en färg" are accepted by Swedes.
The difference between them is the same as "Det är" and "Den är".
When introducing a new concept (Red) and you are defining it (it is a color) you should use the neutrum form: Rött.
Since most people are familiar with the color Red, Röd also is acceptable.
Still, when you say "Red is a color" you are formally introducing/defining the concept/meaning of "Red". Thus, neutrum Rött should be used.
Similar to the difference between "It is my son" and "He is my son".
So, is the ett form the "default". (Ie, if there's nothing for the color to agree with, do you just put the ett form?)
explanation was great. i have another question which may looks a bit amateur at this stage! does this mean neutral form of adjectives always carry a T and the end of themselves? what i mean is the ett form is the neutral form?
So Swedish has two genders, common gender and neutral gender, so when we talk about and adjective being in the ’neuter’, we mean that it takes the ending -t, so the ’neuter form’ is the same thing as the ’ett form’, if that answers your question.
yes it does. now I understand neutral form of adj is the ett form. tack snälla
Rött in this sentence is not adjective it is a noun.
Both forms "Röd är en färg" and "Rött är en färg" are accepted by Swedes.
The difference between them is the same as "Det är" and "Den är".
When introducing a new concept (Red) and you are defining it (it is a color) you should use the neutrum form: Rött.
Since most people are familiar with the color Red, Röd also is acceptable.
Still, when you say "Red is a color" you are formally introducing/defining the concept/meaning of "Red". Thus, neutrum Rött should be used.
Similar to the difference between "It is my son" and "He is my son".
I've failed every question with ''färg'' because sometimes it's a paint and sometimes it's a color....
How do you pronounce färg? It sounds like fair to me and I cannot hear the rg in the end. Am I wrong??
Why does Rott sound different in the sentence compared to clicking on the word individually? It sounds almost like hur-ruut in the sentence but just ruut when you click on the word individually....if that makes sense?
The course uses American English for the defaults. Both spellings are accepted, though.
