adjective inflection, characteristic of Germanic languages: In standard Swedish, adjectives are inflected according to the strong pattern, by gender and number of the noun, in complement function with , "is/am/are", such as , "the lynx is shy", and , "the bears are brown". In some dialects of Swedish, the adjective is uninflected in complement function with , so becoming , "the lynx is shy", and , "the bears are brown". Weak inflection In the definite form, (meaning the + adjective), there is an -a suffix no matter the case or number of the noun: This form is also used with possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, our, their, or in Swedish min/mitt/mina, etc. ), resulting in min gula bil (my yellow car) and ditt stora hus (your large house). The sole exception to this -a suffix occurs when nouns can be replaced with "he" or "him" (in Swedish or ). In this case, the adjectives take the -e ending. Colloquially, however, the usual -a ending is possible in these cases in some Swedish dialects: This is called a weak adjective inflection and originates from a Proto-Germanic nominal derivation of the adjectives. This was not always the case, cf. Proto-Germanic adjectives Comparatives and superlatives Adjectives with comparative and superlative forms ending in -are and -ast, which is a majority, also, and so by rule, use the -e suffix for all persons on definite superlatives: ("the cheapest car"). Another instance of -e for all persons is the plural forms and definite forms of adjectival verb participles ending in -ad: ("a painted car") vs. ("painted cars") and ("the painted car"). Adverbs Adjectival adverbs are formed by putting the adjective in the neuter singular form. Adjectives ending in -lig may take either the neuter singular ending or the suffix -en, and occasionally -ligen is added to an adjective not already ending in -lig. {|class="wikitable" |- !Common !Neuter !Adverb |- |, "thick" |, "thick" |, "thickly" |- |, "fast" |, "fast" |, "fast" |- |, "intentional" |, "intentional" |/, "intentionally" |- |, "great, large" |, "great, large" |, "greatly", "largely" |} Directional adverbs Adverbs of direction in Swedish show a distinction that is often lacking in English: some have different forms depending on whether one is heading that way, or already there. For example: I climbed up on the roof. I was working up on the roof. {|class="wikitable" |- !Heading that way !Already there !English