bestämda

Bestämda is a Swedish adjective form related to the verb bestämma, meaning to determine or decide. In everyday language it can convey two related senses: a grammatical sense of definiteness and a general sense of being resolute or determined. The form bestämda is primarily encountered as the plural or definite inflection of the adjective bestämd.

In Swedish grammar, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in number and definiteness. When the noun is plural or when the noun phrase is in a definite form, the adjective often takes the ending -a, producing forms such as bestämda. This gives the sense of “the definite” or “the determined” when describing plural nouns. For example: de bestämda artiklarna (the definite articles), alla bestämda datum (all definite dates). The same root appears in singular forms: ett bestämt datum (a definite date) or en bestämd person (a determined person). The difference between singular and plural, and between indefinite and definite contexts, guides which form is used.

Semantically, bestämda is versatile. It is used grammatically to mark definiteness, and it can also describe a person or object as determined or resolute in more ordinary speech, though this sense is more common with the base form bestämd than with the plural bestämda. The word reflects Swedish adjective declension and the broader system of definite forms in the language.