"Vad är det där?"
Translation:What is that?
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I'm not sure that's how it works in practice. For instance, if I point at something in the street, I'm very likely to ask "vad är det?" and it would mean "what is that?"
Yes, that is true. Swedish den/det are a bit more demonstrative than English it.
The audio sounds like Vad har du där? without listening to the slow version.
Not to my native ears. If anything, I'd say she pronounces vad much too clearly. We usually swallow the d at the end.
So could one say 'det där där' as 'that there' if one wanted to put that emphasis on it?
Tack! I assume its the same way with "detta" and "denna"? Also when do you use "det", when do you use "den", and when do you use "de"?
Yes, that is correct. Generally speaking, -n is for en-words, -t for ett-words, and -(vowel) for plurals (and definites). So:
- den = it or that for singular en-words
- den där = that (emphasised) for singular en-words
- den här = this for singular en-words
- denna = also this for singular en-words
Then, det follows the same pattern: det, det där, det här, detta.
Then, de follows the same pattern: de, de där, de här, dessa.
