De, dem, dom - they, them

[Vanja]

The difference between de, dem and dom can be a bit tricky, but here goes for a simplified explanation that I hope will make it a bit clearer and easier for you:

Example sentences:

1) De gillar er. - ("de" often pronounced "dom" in everyday speech)
   They like you.
2) Ni gillar dem. -("dem" often pronounced as "dom" in everyday speech)
   You like them.

So, if you know the English backtranslation of the sentence, you will easily see that they = de, and them = dem. E.g. you wouldn't say "Them like you" or "You like they", because that is grammatically incorrect English.

"Dom" firstly occured in speech only, but has in recent years become more and more accepted also in writing, and has also been entered into the dictionary. I am a bit archaic in this particular matter, and would advise to stick to keeping "dom" in just speech form, and not written form, but you are of course welcome to choose whichever form you like (so long as it is grammatically correctly used ).

So, in light of the above, i.e. if they = de, and them = dem, is it de or dem that is missing from these sentences at the three full stops (...):

a) Han fick ett par nya skor och han gillar ...
  He got a new pair of shoes and he likes ...

b) ... (Lisa och Lotta) hittade en plånbok och en mobilelefon och bestämde sig för att ta dem till polisen.
   ... (Lisa and Lotta) found a wallet and a mobile phone, and decided to take them to the police.

"De" can also be a determinate article, so as per usual there are rules and exceptions that apply, but that is a story for another time.

Kind regards,
Vanja