I have a problem that the language seems to have no grammar in some cases. For instance there is both "en lag" and "ett lag" meaning completely different things but the word "lag" is the same sound and same spelling, but the difference is in the meaning of the word.

The grammar is there, even if it's confused by something else.

As you probably know, in Swedish every noun is either "ett" or "en". It's unpredictable sometimes, but this feature is inherent in the noun.

Why is "lag" sometimes "en" and sometimes "ett"? It's because actually there are two/three separate words here.

• One is laget, "the team".
• One is lagen, "the law".
• Another is lagen, the juice/brine.

Each has its gender; they are never mixed up. Swedish people never say "en lag" to mean "a team".

It seems like there is no logic there or at least something I never saw in other languages i.e. the meaning of the word determines the case.

It's mostly arbitrary, like I said. But there are certain generalisations. For example,

• living beings are mostly "en". "en häst", "en fluga", "en pojka", "en främling", "en svamp".

• Masses, like water and slime are usually "det": "vattnet", "slemmet", "trädet". This is what explains "laget", "the team". I guess you'd expect "juice/brine" to fall under this category but for whatever reason it doesn't.

• Nouns for people that are both genders are usually "ett": "ett barn", alternative explanation for "ett lag".

• Nouns which are historically derived from verbs are almost always "en". "lag", "the law", comes from "ligga". That's why it's "en lag".

You see, there is method to the madness. Not always a perfectly reliable method, but it's undeniably there.

I have a problem that the language seems to have no grammar in some cases. For instance there is both "en lag" and "ett lag" meaning completely different things but the word "lag" is the same sound and same spelling, but the difference is in the meaning of the word.

The grammar is there, even if it's confused by something else.

As you probably know, in Swedish every noun is either "ett" or "en". It's unpredictable sometimes, but this feature is inherent in the noun.

Why is "lag" sometimes "en" and sometimes "ett"? It's because actually there are two/three separate words here.

• One is laget, "the team".
• One is lagen, "the law".
• Another is lagen, the juice/brine.

Each has its gender; they are never mixed up. Swedish people never say "en lag" to mean "a team".

It seems like there is no logic there or at least something I never saw in other languages i.e. the meaning of the word determines the case.

It's mostly arbitrary, like I said. But there are certain generalisations. For example,

• living beings are mostly "en". "en häst", "en fluga", "en pojka", "en främling", "en svamp".

• Masses, like water and slime are usually "det": "vattnet", "slemmet", "trädet". This is what explains "laget", "the team". I guess you'd expect "juice/brine" to fall under this category but for whatever reason it doesn't.

• Nouns for humans/humanoids that are both genders are usually "ett": "ett barn", "ett troll", alternative explanation for "ett lag".

• Nouns which are historically derived from verbs are almost always "en". "lag", "the law", comes from "ligga". That's why it's "en lag".

You see, there is method to the madness. Not always a perfectly reliable method, but it's undeniably there.

I have a problem that the language seems to have no grammar in some cases. For instance there is both "en lag" and "ett lag" meaning completely different things but the word "lag" is the same sound and same spelling, but the difference is in the meaning of the word.

The grammar is there, even if it's confused by something else.

As you probably know, in Swedish every noun is either "ett" or "en". It's unpredictable sometimes, but this feature is inherent in the noun.

Why is "lag" sometimes "en" and sometimes "ett"? It's because actually there are two/three separate words here.

• One is laget, "the team".
• One is lagen, "the law".
• Another is lagen, the juice/brine.

Each has its gender; they are never mixed up. Swedish people never say "en lag" to mean "a team".

It seems like there is no logic there or at least something I never saw in other languages i.e. the meaning of the word determines the case.

It's mostly arbitrary, like I said. But there are certain generalisations. For example, living beings are mostly "en". "en häst", "en fluga", "en pojka", "en främling", "en svamp". Masses, like water and slime are usually "det": "vattnet", "slemmet", "trädet".

I have a problem that the language seems to have no grammar in some cases. For instance there is both "en lag" and "ett lag" meaning completely different things but the word "lag" is the same sound and same spelling, but the difference is in the meaning of the word.

The grammar is there, even if it's confused by something else.

As you probably know, in Swedish every noun is either "ett" or "en". It's unpredictable sometimes, but this feature is inherent in the noun.

Why is "lag" sometimes "en" and sometimes "ett"? It's because actually there are two/three separate words here.

• One is laget, "the team".
• One is lagen, "the law".
• Another is lagen, the juice/brine.

Each has its gender; they are never mixed up. Swedish people never say "en lag" to mean "a team".

It seems like there is no logic there or at least something I never saw in other languages i.e. the meaning of the word determines the case.

It's mostly arbitrary, like I said. But there are certain generalisations. For example,

• living beings are mostly "en". "en häst", "en fluga", "en pojka", "en främling", "en svamp".

• Masses, like water and slime are usually "det": "vattnet", "slemmet", "trädet". This is what explains "laget", "the team". I guess you'd expect "juice/brine" to fall under this category but for whatever reason it doesn't.

• Nouns for people that are both genders are usually "ett": "ett barn", alternative explanation for "ett lag".

• Nouns which are historically derived from verbs are almost always "en". "lag", "the law", comes from "ligga". That's why it's "en lag".

You see, there is method to the madness. Not always a perfectly reliable method, but it's undeniably there.