"It is close."

Translation: Det är nära.

[cchico]

What's the difference between det and den, again?

[MarkBorkBorkBork]

den is "it" for en (common) nouns. det is "it" for ett (neuter) nouns.

Like in English, you can't just say "is close" or "is raining". In Swedish, to satisfy the need for a subject, the neuter form det is always used.

I asked about this just the other day ;)

[mintz011]

but why is it det here, and not den?

[MarkBorkBorkBork]

When "it" is not referring to anything in particular, det is used.

[skrats]

So den is the definite form of a en noun, only after it's been specified what "it" is?

[olegviet]

Could it be "det ligger nära" in a narrower sense?

[exqeriment]

No, that means It lies near. Hope that helped!

[olegviet]

It did indeed! Thanks a lot!

[exqeriment]

Happy to help!

[Cristina144710]

Är Nästan och nära synonymer?