En eller ett?
en hela
en-wordHela (meaning "whole") is a common-gender noun in Swedish - it takes the article en. Definite singular: helan. Indefinite plural: helor. Definite plural: helorna.
Example sentences
De såg på Helaen och halvan.
indefinite singular
Han drack helan.
definite singular
De drack sina helor.
plural
Why is hela an en-word?
Nouns with an unstressed -a ending are almost always en-words
This is one of 30 rules of thumb in Artikulera for predicting Swedish grammatical gender. The rule isn't absolute, but it holds for the vast majority of nouns that match the pattern.
Rare exceptions exist, but this rule correctly predicts the gender of most Swedish nouns that match the pattern.
Same rule - also en-words
Practice hela in Artikulera
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Frequently asked questions
- Is hela en or ett in Swedish?
- Hela (meaning "whole") is an en-word in Swedish. Indefinite: en hela. Definite: helan. Plural: helor. Definite plural: helorna.
- What is the definite form of hela?
- The definite singular of hela is helan. En-words take the suffix ‑en in the definite singular. The definite plural is helorna.
- What is the plural of hela in Swedish?
- The indefinite plural of hela is helor. The definite plural is helorna.
- Why is hela an en-word?
- Nouns with an unstressed -a ending are almost always en-words. Hela follows this pattern.