Classroom – Swedish

Swedish Prepositions

Learning the Swedish Prepositions displayed below is vital to the language. Swedish prepositions link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. Here are some examples:

English Prepositions	Swedish Prepositions
Prepositions	Prepositioner
inside the house	inne i huset
outside the car	utanför bilen
with me	med mig
without him	utan honom
under the table	under bordet
after tomorrow	i övermorgon
before sunset	före solnedgången
but I’m busy	men jag är upptagen

Notice the structure of the Prepositions in Swedish.

List of Prepositions in Swedish

Below is a list of the Time place and demonstrative pronouns in Swedish placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Swedish vocabulary.

English Prepositions	Swedish Prepositions
about	om
above	ovanför
across	tvärsöver
after	efter
against	mot
among	bland
around	runt
as	som
at	på/vid
before	före
behind	bakom
below	nedan
beneath	under
beside	bredvid
between	mellan
beyond	bortom
but	men
by	av
despite	trots
down	ner
during	under
except	förutom
for	för
from	från
in	i
inside	inuti
into	in i
near	nära
next	nästa
of	av
on	på
opposite	mittemot
out	ut
outside	utanför
over	över
per	per
plus	plus
round	runt
since	sedan
than	än
through	genom
till	tills
to	till
toward	mot
under	under
unlike	olik
until	tills
up	upp
via	via
with	med
within	inom
without	utan

two words	två ord
according to	enligt
because of	på grund av
close to	nära
due to	på grund av
except for	med undantag för
far from	långt från
inside of	inuti
instead of	i stället för
near to	nära
next to	bredvid
outside of	utanför
prior to	före

three words	tre ord
as far as	så vitt
as well as	dessutom
in addition to	utöver
in front of	framför
in spite of	trots
on behalf of	på någons vägnar
on top of	ovanpå

demonstrative pronouns	demonstrativa prepositioner
this	denna/detta
that	den/det
these	dessa
those	de där

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Swedish Articles

Classroom - Swedish / By Vaikundamoni

Swedish Articles

Learning the Swedish Articles displayed below is vital to the language. Swedish articles are words that combine with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Generally articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun. Examples are “the, a, and an”. Here are some examples:

English Articles	Swedish Articles
articles	artiklar
the	den
a	ett/en
one	ett/en
some	några
few	få

the book	boken
the books	böckerna
a book	en bok
one book	en bok
some books	några böcker
few books	få böcker

Notice the structure of the Articles in Swedish.

List of Articles in Swedish

Below is a list of vocabulary where you can use the Definite and Indefinite Articles in Swedish. Try to practice but also memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Swedish vocabulary

English Vocabulary	Swedish Vocabulary
Food	Mat
almonds	mandlar
bread	bröd
breakfast	frukost
butter	smör
candy	godis
cheese	ost
chicken	kyckling
cumin	kummin
dessert	efterrätt
dinner	middag
fish	fisk
fruit	frukt
ice cream	glass
lamb	lammkött
lemon	citron
lunch	lunch
meal	måltid
meat	kött
oven	ugn
pepper	peppar
plants	växter
pork	fläsk
salad	sallad
salt	salt
sandwich	smörgås
sausage	korv
soup	soppa
sugar	socker
supper	kvällsmål
turkey	kalkon
apple	äpple
banana	banan
oranges	apelsiner
peaches	persikor
peanut	jordnöt
pears	päron
pineapple	ananas
grapes	vindruvor
strawberries	jordgubbar
vegetables	grönsaker
carrot	morot
corn	majs
cucumber	gurka
garlic	vitlök
lettuce	sallad
olives	oliver
onions	lökar
peppers	paprika
potatoes	potatis
pumpkin	pumpa
beans	bönor
tomatoes	tomater

Definite and Indefinite Articles have a very important role in Swedish. Once you’re done with Swedish Articles, you might want to check the rest of our Swedish lessons here: Learn Swedish. Don’t forget to bookmark this page.]]>

Swedish Pronouns

Classroom - Swedish, Learn Swedish / By Vaikundamoni

Swedish Pronouns

Learning the Swedish Pronouns displayed below is vital to the language. Swedish pronouns include personal pronouns (refer to the persons speaking, the persons spoken to, or the persons or things spoken about), indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns (connect parts of sentences) and reciprocal or reflexive pronouns (in which the object of a verb is being acted on by verb’s subject). Here are some examples:

Swedish Subject and Object Pronouns

jag	I	mig (mej)	me
du	you (singular)	dig (dej)	you
han	he	honom	him
hon	she	henne	her
den	it (with en words)	den	it
det	it (with ett words)	det	it
man	one	en	one
vi	we	oss	us
ni	you (plural)	er	you
de (dom)	they	dem (dom)	them

Man can be translated as one, we, they or the people in general. When referring to nouns as it, you use den for en nouns, and det for ett nouns. Formerly, du was the informal you and ni was the formal, but these distinctions are rarely used anymore. The forms in parentheses are the informal ways of spelling these words, which is closer to the actual pronunciation.ersonal pronouns, indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns, reciprocal or reflexive pronouns have a very important role in Swedish. Once you’re done with Swedish Pronouns, you might want to check the rest of our Swedish lessons here: Learn Swedish. Don’t forget to bookmark this page.

Swedish Pronouns

Learning the Swedish Pronouns displayed below is vital to the language. Swedish pronouns include personal pronouns (refer to the persons speaking, the persons spoken to, or the persons or things spoken about), indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns (connect parts of sentences) and reciprocal or reflexive pronouns (in which the object of a verb is being acted on by verb’s subject). Here are some examples:

English Pronouns	Swedish Pronouns
Pronouns	Pronomen
I	jag
you	du
he	han
she	hon
we	vi
they	de/dom

me	mig
you	du
him	honom
her	hennes
us	oss
them	dem/dom

my	min
your	din
his	hans
her	hennes
our	vår
their	deras

mine	min
yours	din
his	hans
hers	hennes
ours	vår
theirs	deras

Notice the structure of the Pronouns in Swedish.

List of Pronouns in Swedish

Below is a list of the Personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns, reciprocal or reflexive pronouns in Swedish placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Swedish vocabulary.

English Pronouns	Swedish Pronouns
I speak	jag talar
you speak	du talar
he speaks	han talar
she speaks	hon talar
we speak	vi talar
they speak	de talar

give me	ge mig
give you	ge dig
give him	ge honom
give her	ge henne
give us	ge oss
give them	ge dem

my book	min bok
your book	din bok
his book	hans bok
her book	hennes bok
our book	vår bok
their book	deras bok

Personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns, reciprocal or reflexive pronouns have a very important role in Swedish. Once you’re done with Swedish Pronouns, you might want to check the rest of our Swedish lessons here. Swedish Lessons]]>

Swedish Pronouns – Subject and Object Pronouns in Swedish

Classroom - Swedish, Learn Swedish / By Vaikundamoni

Swedish Subject and Object Pronouns

jag	I	mig (mej)	me
du	you (singular)	dig (dej)	you
han	he	honom	him
hon	she	henne	her
den	it (with en words)	den	it
det	it (with ett words)	det	it
man	one	en	one
vi	we	oss	us
ni	you (plural)	er	you
de (dom)	they	dem (dom)	them

Swedish Nouns and Cases

Nouns in Swedish have two genders, common and neuter, which adjectives must agree with when modifying nouns. These genders are signified by the indefinite articles: en and ett. In the vocabulary lists, a noun followed by (n) means that it is a neuter noun and it takes the indefinite article ett. The majority of nouns in Swedish are common gender, so they take the indefinite article en. The only case of nouns that is used in Swedish is the genitive (showing possession), and it is easily formed by adding an -s to the noun. This is comparable to adding -‘s in English to show possession. However, if the noun already ends in -s, then you add nothing (unlike English where we add -‘ or -‘s). Anders bok = Anders’s book

Swedish Articles and Demonstratives

There are two indefinite articles (corresponding to a and an) in Swedish: en and ett. En is used with most of the nouns (words denoting people almost always use en), but you will just have to learn which article goes with which noun. The definite article (the) is not a separate word like in most other languages. It is simply a form of the indefinite article attached to the end of the noun. Note that en words ending in a vowel retain that vowel and add an -n instead of adding -en. And ett words ending in -e just add a -t.

En words (common)				Ett words (neuter)
Indefinite		Definite		Indefinite		Definite
en banan	a banana	bananen	the banana	ett bord	a table	bordet	the table
en stol	a chair	stolen	the chair	ett kök	a kitchen	köket	the kitchen
en gata	a street	gatan	the street	ett äpple	an apple	äpplet	the apple

This, that, these and those are expressed in Swedish by using den, det or de plus the word här (here) and där (there). The noun is always in the definite form after these demonstratives. And if any adjectives follow the demonstrative, they must add an -a to the ending.

	with en words	with ett words	with plural words
this / these	den här biljetten – this ticket	det här tåget – this train	de här biljetterna – these tickets
that / those	den där biljetten – that ticket	det där tåget – that train	de där tågen – those trains

Swedish Verbs to Be & to Have

The presnt and past tenses of verbs in Swedish are very simple to conjugate. All the forms are the same for each personal pronoun. The infinitive of the verb to be in Swedish is vara, and the conjugated present tense form is är and the past tense is var. The infinitive of the verb to have is ha, and the conjugated present tense form is har and the past tense is hade.

att vara – to be				att ha – to have
I am	jag är	I was	jag var	I have	jag har	I had	jag hade
you are	du är	you were	du var	you have	du har	you had	du hade
he is	han är	he was	han var	he has	han har	he had	han hade
she is	hon är	she was	hon var	she has	hon har	she had	hon hade
it is	den är	it was	den var	it has	den har	it had	den hade
it is	det är	it was	det var	it has	det har	it had	det hade
one is	man är	one was	man var	one has	man har	one had	man hade
we are	vi är	we were	vi var	we have	vi har	we had	vi hade
you are	ni är	you were	ni var	you have	ni har	you had	ni hade
they are	de är	they were	de var	they have	de har	they had	de hade

To form the future tense of verbs, just add ska before the infinitive. Jag ska vara = I will be; hon ska ha = she will have; etc.

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Swedish Classes

Classroom - Swedish / By Vaikundamoni

1. Articles

There are two indefinite articles in Swedish, en and ett. There is rarely an easy way to determine which article should be used with any one word, so the gender of each noun should be learned separately.

EXAMPLES:

en skola, en pojke, ett spöke, ett slott

The indefinite form of a word is usually used when something is mentioned for the first time.

The definite article is normally attached to the end of the word as an inflectional ending. In singular forms these endings are -n, -en, -t and -et and in plural -na and -en. In cases where the noun is preceded by an adjective, the definite article is also added as a separate entity in front of the word (in singular: den and det, in plural: de).

EXAMPLES:

skolan, pojken, spöket, slottet den tyska tjejen, det lilla rummet, de långa gatorna

The definite form of a word is usually used when something has already been mentioned before or is a fact that is universally known.

EXAMPLES:

Johan träffar en tysk tjej. Tjejen är på väg till Sverige. Johan meets a girl from Germany. The girl is on her way to Sweden.

en skola

ett slott

Noun inflections

Swedish nouns primarily inflect for gender, number and definiteness. Nouns are divided into five groups according to their plural indefinite inflectional ending.

Group 1 -OR All the nouns in this group take the article en and end with the letter a.

Singular indefinite en människa en hona en skola

Singular definite människan honan skolan

Plural indefinite människor honor skolor

Plural definite människorna honorna skolorna

Group 2 -AR All the nouns in this group take the article en. Included in this group are nouns that end with -ing, -dom, -el, -er, and -en.

Singular indefinite en tanke en älv en tidning en visdom en spegel

Singular definite tanken älven tidningen visdomen spegeln

Plural indefinite tankar älvar tidningar visdomar speglar

Plural definite tankarna älvarna tidningarna visdomarna speglarna

Group 3 -ER Most of the nouns in this group take the article en. Included in this group are nouns that end with -het, -else, -ion, and -när. In addition, nouns that take the article ett and end with -um, -eri or -ori are also included.

Singular indefinite en dam en annons en hemlighet en lektion ett konditori

Singular definite damen annonsen hemligheten lektionen konditoriet

Plural indefinite damer annonser hemligheter lektioner konditorier

Plural definite damerna annonserna hemligheterna lektionerna konditorierna

Group 4 -N All the nouns in this group take the article ett and end with a vowel.

Singular indefinite ett ställe ett spöke ett knä

Singular definite stället spöket knäet

Plural indefinite ställen spöken knän

Plural definite ställena spökena knäna

Group 5 (no inflectional ending) Nearly all the nouns in this group take the article ett and end with a consonant. Included are also those nouns that take the article en and end with -are, -er, or -ande (when the word refers to a person) or -are (when the word refers to an appliance or device).

Singular indefinite ett liv ett slott ett problem en spelare en tekniker

Singular definite livet slottet problemet spelaren teknikern

Plural indefinite liv slott problem spelare tekniker

Plural definite liven slottet problemen spelarna teknikerna

Swedish Basic phrases

Here are some basic Swedish phrases which you can use in everyday conversation, as well as some common words you will see on signs.

ja	yes
nej	no

tack	please (used at the end of a sentence); thanks, thank you
tack så mycket	thank you very much
ingen orsak	you’re welcome

hej or hej hej	hi, hello
hejsan	hi (informal)

god dag

hello; goodbye (literally: good day; can be used any time from morning until around 5pm)

god morgon	good morning (used until around 11am)
god förmiddag	good morning (used from around 11am until noon)
god middag	good afternoon (used around noon)
god eftermiddag	good afternoon (used from noon until around 5pm)
god kväll	good evening (used from around 5pm)

välkommen!	welcome!
välkommen till …	welcome to …

hej or hej hej	bye
hejdå	goodbye
god natt	goodnight
vi ses!	see you! (informal)
vi ses snart!	see you soon!
vi ses senare!	see you later!
ha en bra dag!	have a good day!

ursäkta mig	excuse me (to get someone’s attention or to get past someone); sorry
förlåt	sorry
inga problem	no problem
det gör inget	don’t worry about it

3. Genitive

The genitive expresses ownership, to whom or what something belongs.

Ownership in Swedish is usually expressed by a structure called the s-genitive, but can sometimes also be expressed by alternative structures such as compounds and prepositional phrases. The s-genitive is formed by adding the genitive ending -s to the end of a proper name or to the end of a noun in its definite form.

EXAMPLES:

Lauras hund är under bordet. Laura’s dog is under the table. Lärarens nya bil var stor och röd. The teacher’s new car was big and red.

The noun following the genitive form is always indefinite. If that noun takes an adjective, the adjective is used in its definite form (marked by the letter a).

EXAMPLES:

familjens stora hus Marias röda rum

Lauras hund är under bordet.

Swedish Useful Words

sometimes	ibland	already	redan
always	alltid	perhaps	kanske
never	aldrig	both	båda
often	ofta	some	någon, något, några
usually	oftast	again	igen, åter
now	nu	between	mellan
and	och	a lot, many	många
but	men	of course	naturligtvis
or	eller	a little	lite grann
very	mycket / väldigt	not at all	inte alls
here	här	almost	nästan
there	där	really?	verkligen
with	med	it is	det är
each other	varandra	there is/are	det finns

4. Adjective inflections

Adjectives have three forms in Swedish.

en gender stor vanlig mystisk

ett gender stort vanligt mystiskt

plural / definite form stora vanliga mystiska

EXAMPLES

en stor bil, ett stort hus, stora pojkar

There are some exceptions to this rule, namely a number of undeclinable adjectives and the adjective liten, which has four different forms instead of three:

en-gender liten

ett-gender litet

definite form lilla

plural små

EXAMPLES:

en liten katt, ett litet rum, min lilla hund, små blommor

ett stort hus

en liten katt

5. Comparison of adjectives

The comparative and superlative forms of adjectives can be formed in four different ways.

1. Usually comparative and superlative forms are formed by adding the inflectional endings -areand -ast to the end of the word.

positive vanlig trött glad söt

comparative vanligare tröttare gladare sötare

superlative vanligast tröttast gladast sötast

2. A number of adjectives require the -re and -st endings in their shorter forms. In these cases, the vowel in the original form of the adjective may also change slightly.

positive hög låg lång stor

comparative högre lägre längre större

superlative högst lägst längst störst

3. A small number of adjectives using these shorter endings also require a complete change in the original word form.

positive god gammal liten dålig

comparative bättre äldre mindre sämre

superlative bäst äldst minst sämst

4. If the adjective ends with -isk or is in the participial form (takes endings such as –ande, –ende and –ad), the comparative and superlative forms are formed with the help of mera andmest.

positive lovande praktisk lyckad

comparative mera lovande mera praktisk mera lyckad

superlative mest lovande mest praktisk mest lyckad

EXAMPLES:

Camilla är en bättre läkare än Martina. Camilla is a better doctor than Martina. John är lika duktig som Camilla. John is as skillful as Camilla. Han är också äldst av dem. He is also the oldest of them.

Swedish Subject and Object Pronouns

jag	I	mig (mej)	me
du	you (singular)	dig (dej)	you
han	he	honom	him
hon	she	henne	her
den	it (with en words)	den	it
det	it (with ett words)	det	it
man	one	en	one
vi	we	oss	us
ni	you (plural)	er	you
de (dom)	they	dem (dom)	them

The subject of a sentence is someone who performs an action.

EXAMPLES:

Vi dricker mycket te. We drink a lot of tea. Du gillar musik. You like music.

The object of a sentence is someone that something is done to, or something that is the focus of the performed action.

EXAMPLES:

Vi saknar dem hela tiden. We miss them all the time. Har du sett honom? Have you seen him?

The possessive forms mark ownership.

EXAMPLES:

Jag gav mina biljetter till henne. I gave my tickets to her. Min hund är större än din. My dog is bigger than yours.

8. Passive voice

Verb structures can be divided into two main categories: the active and the passive voice. The active voice expresses what the subject of the sentence is doing, whereas the passive voice expresses what is being done to the subject of the sentence, often leaving out the person actually performing the action.

Active voice Han ska renovera villan. He will renovate the villa.

Passive voice Villan ska renoveras. The villa will be renovated.

A common way to form a passive verb structure in Swedish is the s-passive. The s-passive is formed by taking the object of the active sentence and moving it into the place of the subject in that sentence. After this, the letter s is placed after the main verb to mark the verb as having a passive form.

Active voice En kvinna öppnade dörren för mig. A woman opened the door for me.

Passive voice Dörren öppnades för mig. The door was opened for me.

When forming the s-passive in the present tense, extra care must be taken. The s-marker of the s-passive is attached to the verb according to the following rules: Verb group 1: infinitive + s (älska -> älskas) Verb groups 2, 3 and 4: verb stem + s (skriva -> skriv/er -> skrivs) Verb stems ending with s: verb stem + es (läsa -> läs/er -> läses)

EXAMPLES:

Vi talar engelska i skolan varje dag. -> Engelska talas i skolan varje dag. Ungdomar dricker för mycket läsk. -> Läsk dricks för mycket.

In other tenses the s-marker is simply added to the end of the main verb.

EXAMPLES:

Vi valde henne till president. -> Hon valdes till president. Jag gav henne boken. -> Hon gavs boken.

If need be, the original subject of the active sentence doesn’t have to be left out, but can be added into the passive sentence as an agent with the help of the preposition av:

Active voice En kvinna öppnade dörren för mig.

Passive voice + agent Dörren öppnades för mig av en kvinna.

Imperative

The imperative is a form that expresses a command.

Depending on which verb group the verb belongs to, the imperative can be formed by using either the infinitive form or the stem of the verb. If the present tense ending of the verb is -ar, then the infinitive form is used. If the ending is either -er or -r, the ending is removed and the stem of the verb is used as the imperative instead.

Group 1: Stanna här! (stann/ar -> infinitive = imperative) Group 2: Rök inte! (rök/er -> verb stem = imperative) Group 3: Tro på mig! (tro/r -> verb stem = imperative) Group 4: Ät bättre! (ät/er -> verb stem= imperative)

Rök inte!

Essential Swedish:

English	Swedish
Hello	Hej
Good evening	Hej
Goodbye	Hejdå
See you later	Vi ses
Yes	Ja
No	Nej
Excuse me!	Skulle du kunna
Thanks	Tack!
Thanks a lot	Tack så mycket!
Thank you for your help	Tack för hjälpen
Don’t mention it	Varsågod
Ok	Okej
How much is it?	Hur mycket kostar det?
Sorry!	Förlåt!
I don’t understand	Jag förstår inte
I get it	Jag förstår
I don’t know	Jag vet inte
Forbidden	Förbjudet
Excuse me, where are the toilets?	Ursäkta mig, var finns det en toalett?
Happy New Year!	Gott Nytt År!
Happy birthday!	Grattis på födelsedagen!
Happy holiday!	Trevliga helgdagar
Congratulations!	Gratulerar!

Looking for Somebody in Swedish

English	Swedish
Excuse me, is Sarah here?	Är Sara här?
Yes, she’s here	Ja, hon är här
She’s out	Hon gick ut
You can call her on her mobile phone	Ni kan ringa henne på hennes mobil
Do you know where I could find her?	Vet ni var jag skulle kunna få tag på henne?
She is at work	Hon är på jobbet
She is at home	Hon är hemma
Excuse me, is Julien here?	Är Julien här?
Yes, he’s here	Ja, han är här
He’s out	Han gick ut
Do you know where I could find him?	Vet ni var jag skulle kunna få tag på honom?
You can call him on his mobile phone	Ni kan ringa honom på hans mobil
He is at work	Han är på jobbet
He is at home	Han är hemma

Swedish Nouns, Articles, Demonstratives and Cases

En words (common)				Ett words (neuter)
Indefinite		Definite		Indefinite		Definite
en banan	a banana	bananen	the banana	ett bord	a table	bordet	the table
en stol	a chair	stolen	the chair	ett kök	a kitchen	köket	the kitchen
en gata	a street	gatan	the street	ett äpple	an apple	äpplet	the apple

	with en words	with ett words	with plural words
this / these	den här biljetten – this ticket	det här tåget – this train	de här biljetterna – these tickets
that / those	den där biljetten – that ticket	det där tåget – that train	de där tågen – those trains

Essential Phrases in Swedish:

pratar du engelska?

do you speak English?

jag pratar inte svenska	I don’t speak Swedish
jag pratar lite svenska	I speak a little Swedish
jag pratar väldigt lite svenska	I only speak very little Swedish

var snäll och prata långsammare	please speak more slowly
kan du säga det igen?	could you please repeat that?

jag förstår	I understand
jag förstår inte	I don’t understand

jag vet	I know
jag vet inte	I don’t know

var är toaletten?

where is the toilet, please?

det brinner!	fire!
ring brandkåren!	call the fire brigade!

jag är vilse	I’m lost
vi är vilse	we’re lost

jag kan inte hitta min …

I can’t find my …

jag har tappat …	I’ve lost my …
mina nycklar	keys
mitt pass	passport
min plånbok	wallet
min väska	purse
min kamera	camera

jag är utelåst ur min …	I’ve locked myself out of my …
bil	car
rum	room

lämna mig ifred	please leave me alone
försvinn!	go away!

General conversation

Here are some common Swedish phrases for general conversation with people you already know.

hur står det till?	how are you?
hur är läget?	how’s it going?

jag är bra, tack	I’m fine, thanks
jag är OK, tack	I’m OK, thanks
inte så dåligt, tack	not too bad, thanks
inte så bra	not so well

hur är det med dig?	how about you?
och du?	and you?
och du själv?	and yourself?

vad har du haft för dig?

what have you been up to?

jobbat mycket	working a lot
studerat mycket	studying a lot
jag har varit väldigt upptagen	I’ve been very busy
samma som vanligt	same as usual
inte mycket	not much

jag har precis kommit tillbaka från …

I’ve just come backfrom …

har du några planer för sommaren?

do you have any plans for the summer?

vad ska du göra på …?	what are you doing for …?
julen	Christmas
nyår	New Year
påsken	Easter

Swedish Question Words

who	vem	whose	vems
what	vad	which	vilken, vilket, vilka
why	varför	where to	vart
when	när	where from	varifrån
where	var	how	hur

Which has three different forms depending on the gender and number of the noun that follows it. Vilken is used with en words, vilket is used with ett words and vilka is used with plural words.

Yes/No questions: Invert the subject and verb so that the verb begins the question.

Arbetar han? Does he work? Regnar det? Is it raining?

Question Words: The question word begins the question, and the verb comes next, followed by the subject.

Var bor Sten? Where does Sten live? Vad gör Elsa? What does Elsa do?

Word order

There are three different word order structures to follow in the Swedish language: the traditional word order of the main clause, the inverted word order of the main clause, and the word order of the subordinate clause. A main clause contains an independent thought and can form a grammatically acceptable and understandable sentence on its own. A subordinate clause adds information to the main clause or specifies something in the main clause, and it does not work on its own without the main clause. The traditional word order of the main clause follows a basic pattern where the first element of the sentence is a subject, followed closely by a verb and an object (SVO). Qualifiers such as negative words (inte, ej) and specific adverbs (alltid, kanske, redan) are usually placed after the first verb. At the end of the sentence, additional information on how something was done (tydligt), where it was done (i sängen) and when (på morgonen), can also be included.

The traditional word order in a nutshell: subject, verb, qualifier, object, how, where, when.

EXAMPLES:

Jenny köpte en ny bok i går. Jenny bought a new book yesterday. Hon vill inte äta frukost hemma i morgon. She doesn’t want to eat breakfast at home tomorrow.

The inverted word order of the main clause is needed when the sentence starts with something else than a subject, for example with an expression describing a place or a time. In an inverted word order the subject and the verb change places (VSO). The inverted word order in a nutshell: alternate expression, verb, subject, qualifier, object, how, where, when.

EXAMPLES:

Där lyssnade vi alltid på rockmusik. There we always listened to rock music. Idag har jag inte haft tid att laga mat. Today I haven’t had time to cook (food).

The word order of the subordinate clause is near identical to that of the traditional main clause word order (SVO). The main difference is that the qualifier comes before the verb and not after it. A subordinate clause usually starts with a conjunction or a similar structure. The word order of a subordinate clause in a nutshell: conjunction, subject, qualifier, verb, object, how, where, when. In the following examples, the beginning of the subordinate clause has been bolded.

EXAMPLES:

Det är kul att jag redan kan gå hem. It’s nice that I can already go home. Det är någonting som Jesse inte förstår. It’s something that Jesse doesn’t understand.

Swedish Verbs to Be & to Have

The present and past tenses of verbs in Swedish are very simple to conjugate. All the forms are the same for each personal pronoun. The infinitive of the verb to be in Swedish is vara, and the conjugated present tense form is är and the past tense is var. The infinitive of the verb to have is ha, and the conjugated present tense form is har and the past tense is hade.

att vara – to be				att ha – to have
I am	jag är	I was	jag var	I have	jag har	I had	jag hade
you are	du är	you were	du var	you have	du har	you had	du hade
he is	han är	he was	han var	he has	han har	he had	han hade
she is	hon är	she was	hon var	she has	hon har	she had	hon hade
it is	den är	it was	den var	it has	den har	it had	den hade
it is	det är	it was	det var	it has	det har	it had	det hade
one is	man är	one was	man var	one has	man har	one had	man hade
we are	vi är	we were	vi var	we have	vi har	we had	vi hade
you are	ni är	you were	ni var	you have	ni har	you had	ni hade
they are	de är	they were	de var	they have	de har	they had	de hade

To form the future tense of verbs, just add ska before the infinitive. Jag ska vara = I will be; hon ska ha = she will have; etc.

Professions in Swedish:

actor	skådespelare	judge	domare
actress	skådespelerska	lawyer	advokat
author	författare	mechanic	mekaniker, montör
baker	bagare	musician	musiker
baker’s shop	bageri	nurse	sjuksköterska
bookseller	bokhandlare	official	ämbetsman
bookshop	bokaffär	optician (eye doctor)	optiker
businessman	affärsman	painter	målare
butcher	slaktare	photographer	fotograf
pharmacist	farmaceut	policeman	polis
pharmacy	apotek (n)	postman	brevbärare
cook	kock, kokerska	priest	präst
customer	kund	publisher	förläggare
dentist	tandläkare	scientist	vetenskapsman
doctor	läkare, doktor	shoemaker	skomakare
employee	anställd, arbetstagare	shop, store	butik
engineer	ingenjör	singer	sångare, sångerska
fisherman	fiskare	student	student
gardener	trädgårdsmästare	surgeon	kirurg
hairdresser	hårfrisör	tailor	skräddare
jeweler	juvelerare	teacher	lärare
journalist	journalist	workman	arbetare

Swedish Days of the Week / Veckans dagar

Monday	måndag
Tuesday	tisdag
Wednesday	onsdag
Thursday	torsdag
Friday	fredag
Saturday	lördag
Sunday	söndag
day	dag
morning	morgon
afternoon	eftermiddag
evening	afton (before 6 pm) / kväll
night	natt
today	idag
tomorrow	imorgon
day after tomorrow	i övermorgon
tonight	ikväll
yesterday	igår
day before yesterday	i förrgår
last night	igår natt
week	vecka
weekend	helg
daily	daglig
weekly	veckolig

To say “on” a certain day, use på before the day.

Swedish Months of the Year

January	januari
February	februari
March	mars
April	april
May	maj
June	juni
July	juli
August	augusti
September	september
October	oktober
November	november
December	december
month	månad
year	år
monthly	månatlig / varje månad
yearly	årlig

To say “in” a certain month, use i before the month.

Swedish Verbs: To Do/Make & To Become

göra – to do/make	bli – to become
present	gör	blir
past	gjorde	blev
future	ska göra	ska bli

Use of göra in short answers

A yes/no question can be answered with a short phrase, just as in English. The verb göra (to do/make) is used with the pronoun det and the subject of the question. Some verbs are not replaced by göra and are repeated in the short answer, such as vara and ha. This is very similar to English, except for the word order. Positive Short Answer: Ja + det + Verb + Subject Negative Short Answer: Nej + det + Verb + Subject + inte Arbetar hon här? Does she work here? Ja, det gör hon. Yes, she does. Nej, det gör hon inte. No, she doesn’t. Är de glada? Are they happy? Ja, det är de. Yes, they are. Nej, det är de inte. No, they are not.

Swedish Seasons

Winter	vinter	in (the) winter	på vintern
Spring	vår	in (the) spring	på våren
Summer	sommar	in (the) summer	på sommaren
Fall	höst	in (the) fall	på hösten

You can also use i before the names of the seasons to express this: i vinter = this winter

Swedish Directions

North	norr	Northeast	nordost
South	söder	Northwest	nordväst
East	öster	Southeast	sydost
West	väster	Southwest	sydväst

left	till vänster
right	till höger
straight ahead	rakt fram

Swedish Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

with en words	with ett words	with plural words
my / mine	min	mitt	mina
your / yours	din	ditt	dina
his / her / its / their	sin	sitt	sina
his / his	hans	hans	hans
her / hers	hennes	hennes	hennes
its / its	dess	dess	dess
our / ours	vår	vårt	våra
your / yours	er	ert	era
their / theirs	deras	deras	deras

The same forms are used for possessive adjectives that are used directly before nouns and for possessive pronouns that replace a noun. For example, this is my car and this is mine would be translated as det här är min bil and det här är min.

Sin, sitt and sina can only be used when the third person possessive adjective refers to the subject of the same clause. These words can be translated as his, her, its or their. Generally, if you cannot insert “own” after the possessive adjective in English, you cannot use sin/sitt/sina. Per besöker sin mamma. = Per visits his (own) mother. (Sin refers back to Per.) Eva ringer hans mamma. = Eva calls his mother. (Hans refers to Per, not Eva.)

Swedish Verbs: To Do/Make & To Become

göra – to do/make	bli – to become
present	gör	blir
past	gjorde	blev
future	ska göra	ska bli

Use of göra in short answers

Swedish Prepositions

vid	by, at, next to	av	of, by, with
i	in	bakom	behind
på	on, in, at	bland	among
hos	at the house of	bredvid	beside
till	to	efter	after, for
från	from	enligt	according to
genom	through, by	framför	in front of
längs	along	för	for, by, with
över	across, over	omkring	around
mot	towards, to	med	with, by
mellan	between	under	under, below
om	around, about, in	utan	without
sedan	since	utom	except for
trots	in spite of	åt	towards, for

Vid is used to express a position next to something, but with no contact. I is used to express a position in something that is seen to have volume (room, containers, etc.); and it is also used with countries, cities, villages, etc. På is used to express a position on something that is seen as a line or surface with contact; and it is also used with islands, addresses, and particular places, such as bank, post office, cinema, hospital, library, etc. Three exceptions to using på with particular places include school, the shop and church: i skolan, i affären, i kyrkan.

Swedish Modal Verbs

kunna – to be able to, can	vilja – to want to	få – to be allowed to	— have to, must
present	kan	vill	får	måste
past	kunde	ville	fick	—

Just as in English, there is no past form of must / måste. You can either use var tvungen or behövde instead, as in jag var tvungen att … = I had to…

	skola – supposed to, will, should	böra- should, ought to	bruka – usually, used to	behöva – need to
present	ska	bör	brukar	behöver
past	skulle	borde	brukade	behövde

Vi kan tala engelska. We can speak English. Han kunde inte spela. He could not play. Sven vill sova. Sven wants to sleep. Hon vill ha kaffe. She wants coffee. (When vilja is followed by a noun, ha is added before the noun.) Du får röka. You may smoke. De måste gå hem nu. They must go home now. Du får inte röka. You must not smoke. (Must not is translated with får inte rather than måste inte, which means don’t have to.) Jag brukar dricka kaffe efter lunch. I usually drink coffee after lunch. (Brukar in the present tense means usually + main verb.)

Conjugating Regular Verbs in Swedish in the Present and Past Tenses

Infinitives in Swedish end in -a. When conjugating verbs, the same form is used for all subject pronouns, whether singular or plural. To form the present tense of verbs, either add -r to the infinitive or remove the -a and add -er.

tala – to speak (-ar verb) and stänga – to close (-er verb)

Present Tense		Past Tense		Present Tense		Past Tense
jag talar	I speak	jag talade	I spoke	jag stänger	I close	jag stängde	I closed
du talar	you speak	du talade	you spoke	du stänger	you close	du stängde	you closed
han talar	he speaks	han talade	he spoke	han stänger	he closes	han stängde	he closed
hon talar	she speaks	hon talade	she spoke	hon stänger	she closes	hon stängde	she closed
vi talar	we speak	vi talade	we spoke	vi stänger	we close	vi stängde	we closed
ni talar	you speak	ni talade	you spoke	ni stänger	you close	ni stängde	you closed
de talar	they speak	de talade	they spoke	de stänger	they close	de stängde	they closed

Please note the three present tenses in English (simple, progressive and emphatic) are all translated by one verb form in Swedish. Jag talar can mean I speak, I am speaking or I do speak. Four Past Tense Conjugations To form the past tense, most verbs add -de to the present tense form of -ar verbs and to the stem of -er verbs (infinitive minus -a). But if the stem ends in a voiceless consonant (k, p, t, or s), then add -te instead. Another group of verbs, short verbs ending in a vowel, add -dde to form the past tense.

	Infinitive		Present	Past
Infinitive of -ar verbs; add -de	arbeta	to work	arbetar	arbetade
	fråga	to ask	frågar	frågade
	öppna	to open	öppnar	öppnade
	tala	to speak	talar	talade
Stem of -er verbs; add -de	ringa	to ring	ringer	ringde
	stänga	to close	stänger	stängde
	följa	to follow	följer	följde
	bygga	to build	bygger	byggde
Stem ends in k, p, t, or s; add -te	tänka	to think	tänker	tänkte
	röka	to smoke	röker	rökte
	läsa	to read	läser	läste
	köpa	to buy	köper	köpte
Infinitive ends in long vowel; add -dde	tro	to believe	tror	trodde
Infinitive ends in long vowel; add -dde	bo	to live, dwell	bor	bodde

Negative Sentences

To make a sentence negative in Swedish, simply add inte after the verb. If there is an auxiliary verb and a main verb, inte goes between the two. In addition, if you answer “yes” to a negative question, you must use jo instead of ja.

Swedish Reflexive Verbs

Some verbs in Swedish are reflexive verbs, in that the action by the subject is performed by itself. This is comparable to the -self or -selves pronouns used in English with some verbs, such as he behaves himself. Most of the time, verbs that are reflexive in Swedish are not reflexive in English. To conjugate these verbs, simply add these pronouns after the verb:

mig (mej)	myself	oss	ourselves
dig (dej)	yourself	er	yourselves
sig (sej)	himself/herself/itself	sig (sej)	theirselves

The forms in parentheses are used in colloquial (spoken and written) Swedish. In fact, mig, dig and sig are pronounced as if they were writtenmej, dej and sej.

Swedish Conjunctions

Coordinating Conjunctions

och	and
eller	or
men	but
för	because, for
så	so
som	as
antingen…eller	either…or
varken…eller	neither…nor

Subordinating Conjunctions

att	that
då	when
eftersom	because, as
för att	in order to, so that
därför att	because
innan / förrän	before
medan	while
när	when
om	if, whether (interrogation)
fast	even if, although
sedan	since, as
nu då	now that

Swedish Present and Past Perfect Tenses

The present and past perfect tenses consist of two parts: har / hade and the supine form of the main verb. This is a compound tense that corresponds to has/have / had and a past participle in English. The main difference between Swedish and English in this tense, however, is that Swedish uses the supine form of the verb instead of the past participle.

To form the supine, -ar verbs add -t to the infinitive; while -er verbs replace -a with -t in the infinitive. Infinitives ending in long vowels add -tt to form the supine.

Infinitive		Present	Past	Supine
arbeta	to work	arbetar	arbetade	arbetat
fråga	to ask	frågar	frågade	frågat
öppna	to open	öppnar	öppnade	öppnat
tala	to speak	talar	talade	talat
ringa	to ring	ringer	ringde	ringt
stänga	to close	stänger	stängde	stängt
följa	to follow	följer	följde	följt
bygga	to build	bygger	byggde	byggt
tänka	to think	tänker	tänkte	tänkt
röka	to smoke	röker	rökte	rökt
läsa	to read	läser	läste	läst
köpa	to buy	köper	köpte	köpt
tro	to believe	tror	trodde	trott
bo	to live, dwell	bor	bodde	bott

Jag har läst boken. I have read the book. Hon hade öppnat dörren. She had opened the door.

List of common regular verbs

First conjugation

att + infinitiv	presens	imperfekt	supinum	imperativ	Translation
att dansa	dansar	dansade	dansat	dansa!	to dance
att hoppa	hoppar	hoppade	hoppat	hoppa!	to jump
att spela	spelar	spelade	spelat	spela!	to play
att träna	tränar	tränade	tränat	träna!	to train/work out
att visa	visar	visade	visat	visa!	to show

Second conjugation (-er)

Conjugation 2a (-er, -de, -t)

att + infinitiv	presens	imperfekt	supinum	imperativ	Translation
att förlänga	förlänger	förlängde	förlängt	förläng!	to prolong
att hänga	hänger	hängde	hängt	häng!	to hang
att ringa	ringer	ringde	ringt	ring!	to ring
att stänga	stänger	stängde	stängt	stäng!	to close

Conjugation 2b (-er, -te, -t)

att + infinitiv	presens	imperfekt	supinum	imperativ	Translation
att leka	leker	lekte	lekt	lek!	to play
att steka	steker	stekte	stekt	stek!	to fry
att tycka	tycker	tyckte	tyckt	tyck!	to think (opinion)
att tänka	tänker	tänkte	tänkt	tänk!	to think (use brain/opinions)

Third conjugation

att + infinitiv	presens	imperfekt	supinum	imperativ	Translation
att gro	gror	grodde	grott	gro!	to grow
att sy	syr	sydde	sytt	sy!	to sew

Swedish Language

Swedish Lessons Introduction]]>

Swedish Days of the Week and Months of the Year

Classroom - Swedish, Learn Swedish / By Vaikundamoni

Swedish Days of the Week / Veckansdagar

Monday	måndag
Tuesday	tisdag
Wednesday	onsdag
Thursday	torsdag
Friday	fredag
Saturday	lördag
Sunday	söndag
day	dag
morning	morgon
afternoon	eftermiddag
evening	afton (before 6 pm) / kväll
night	natt
today	idag
tomorrow	imorgon
day after tomorrow	i övermorgon
tonight	ikväll
yesterday	igår
day before yesterday	i förrgår
last night	igår natt
week	vecka
weekend	helg
daily	daglig
weekly	veckolig

To say “on” a certain day, use på before the day.

Swedish Months of the Year

January	januari
February	februari
March	mars
April	april
May	maj
June	juni
July	juli
August	augusti
September	september
October	oktober
November	november
December	december
month	månad
year	år
monthly	månatlig / varje månad
yearly	årlig

To say “in” a certain month, use i before the month.]]>

Swedish Verbs Be and Have – Vara and Ha

Classroom - Swedish / By Vaikundamoni

How to conjugate be and have (vara and ha) in Swedish The present and past tenses of verbs in Swedish are very simple to conjugate. All the forms are the same for each personal pronoun. The infinitive of the verb to be in Swedish is vara, and the conjugated present tense form is är and the past tense is var. The infinitive of the verb to have is ha, and the conjugated present tense form is har and the past tense is hade.

att vara – to be				att ha – to have
I am	jag är	I was	jag var	I have	jag har	I had	jag hade
you are	du är	you were	du var	you have	du har	you had	du hade
he is	han är	he was	han var	he has	han har	he had	han hade
she is	hon är	she was	hon var	she has	hon har	she had	hon hade
it is	den är	it was	den var	it has	den har	it had	den hade
it is	det är	it was	det var	it has	det har	it had	det hade
one is	man är	one was	man var	one has	man har	one had	man hade
we are	vi är	we were	vi var	we have	vi har	we had	vi hade
you are	ni är	you were	ni var	you have	ni har	you had	ni hade
they are	de är	they were	de var	they have	de har	they had	de hade

To form the future tense of verbs, just add ska before the infinitive. Jag ska vara = I will be; hon ska ha = she will have; etc.

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Swedish Pronouns

Classroom - Swedish, Learn Swedish / By Vaikundamoni

Swedish Subject and Object Pronouns

jag	I	mig (mej)	me
du	you (singular)	dig (dej)	you
han	he	honom	him
hon	she	henne	her
den	it (with en words)	den	it
det	it (with ett words)	det	it
man	one	en	one
vi	we	oss	us
ni	you (plural)	er	you
de (dom)	they	dem (dom)	them

Swedish Subject and Object Pronouns

Swedish Nouns

Classroom - Swedish, Learn Swedish / By Vaikundamoni

Swedish Nouns, Articles, and Demonstratives

Swedish Nouns and Cases

The only case of nouns that is used in Swedish is the genitive (showing possession), and it is easily formed by adding an -s to the noun. This is comparable to adding -‘s in English to show possession. However, if the noun already ends in -s, then you add nothing (unlike English where we add -‘ or -‘s). Anders bok = Anders’s book

Swedish Articles and Demonstratives

En words (common)				Ett words (neuter)
Indefinite		Definite		Indefinite		Definite
en banan	a banana	bananen	the banana	ett bord	a table	bordet	the table
en stol	a chair	stolen	the chair	ett kök	a kitchen	köket	the kitchen
en gata	a street	gatan	the street	ett äpple	an apple	äpplet	the apple

with en words	with ett words	with plural words
this / these	den här biljetten – this ticket	det här tåget – this train	de här biljetterna – these tickets
that / those	den där biljetten – that ticket	det där tåget – that train	de där tågen – those trains

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Swedish Classroom-Essential Phrases

Classroom - Swedish / By Vaikundamoni

Swedish Basic phrases

Here are some basic Swedish phrases which you can use in everyday conversation, as well as some common words you will see on signs.

ja	yes
nej	no

tack	please (used at the end of a sentence); thanks, thank you
tack så mycket	thank you very much
ingen orsak	you’re welcome

hej or hej hej	hi, hello
hejsan	hi (informal)

god dag

hello; goodbye (literally: good day; can be used any time from morning until around 5pm)

god morgon	good morning (used until around 11am)
god förmiddag	good morning (used from around 11am until noon)
god middag	good afternoon (used around noon)
god eftermiddag	good afternoon (used from noon until around 5pm)
god kväll	good evening (used from around 5pm)

välkommen!	welcome!
välkommen till …	welcome to …

hej or hej hej	bye
hejdå	goodbye
god natt	goodnight
vi ses!	see you! (informal)
vi ses snart!	see you soon!
vi ses senare!	see you later!
ha en bra dag!	have a good day!

ursäkta mig	excuse me (to get someone’s attention or to get past someone); sorry
förlåt	sorry
inga problem	no problem
det gör inget	don’t worry about it

Essential Swedish:

English	Swedish
Hello	Hej
Good evening	Hej
Goodbye	Hejdå
See you later	Vi ses
Yes	Ja
No	Nej
Excuse me!	Skulle du kunna
Thanks	Tack!
Thanks a lot	Tack så mycket!
Thank you for your help	Tack för hjälpen
Don’t mention it	Varsågod
Ok	Okej
How much is it?	Hur mycket kostar det?
Sorry!	Förlåt!
I don’t understand	Jag förstår inte
I get it	Jag förstår
I don’t know	Jag vet inte
Forbidden	Förbjudet
Excuse me, where are the toilets?	Ursäkta mig, var finns det en toalett?
Happy New Year!	Gott Nytt År!
Happy birthday!	Grattis på födelsedagen!
Happy holiday!	Trevliga helgdagar
Congratulations!	Gratulerar!

Looking for Somebody in Swedish

English	Swedish
Excuse me, is Sarah here?	Är Sara här?
Yes, she’s here	Ja, hon är här
She’s out	Hon gick ut
You can call her on her mobile phone	Ni kan ringa henne på hennes mobil
Do you know where I could find her?	Vet ni var jag skulle kunna få tag på henne?
She is at work	Hon är på jobbet
She is at home	Hon är hemma
Excuse me, is Julien here?	Är Julien här?
Yes, he’s here	Ja, han är här
He’s out	Han gick ut
Do you know where I could find him?	Vet ni var jag skulle kunna få tag på honom?
You can call him on his mobile phone	Ni kan ringa honom på hans mobil
He is at work	Han är på jobbet
He is at home	Han är hemma

Essential Phrases in Swedish:

pratar du engelska?

do you speak English?

jag pratar inte svenska	I don’t speak Swedish
jag pratar lite svenska	I speak a little Swedish
jag pratar väldigt lite svenska	I only speak very little Swedish

var snäll och prata långsammare	please speak more slowly
kan du säga det igen?	could you please repeat that?

jag förstår	I understand
jag förstår inte	I don’t understand

jag vet	I know
jag vet inte	I don’t know

var är toaletten?

where is the toilet, please?

det brinner!	fire!
ring brandkåren!	call the fire brigade!

jag är vilse	I’m lost
vi är vilse	we’re lost

jag kan inte hitta min …

I can’t find my …

jag har tappat …	I’ve lost my …
mina nycklar	keys
mitt pass	passport
min plånbok	wallet
min väska	purse
min kamera	camera

jag är utelåst ur min …	I’ve locked myself out of my …
bil	car
rum	room

lämna mig ifred	please leave me alone
försvinn!	go away!

General conversation

Here are some common Swedish phrases for general conversation with people you already know.

hur står det till?	how are you?
hur är läget?	how’s it going?

jag är bra, tack	I’m fine, thanks
jag är OK, tack	I’m OK, thanks
inte så dåligt, tack	not too bad, thanks
inte så bra	not so well

hur är det med dig?	how about you?
och du?	and you?
och du själv?	and yourself?

vad har du haft för dig?

what have you been up to?

jobbat mycket	working a lot
studerat mycket	studying a lot
jag har varit väldigt upptagen	I’ve been very busy
samma som vanligt	same as usual
inte mycket	not much

jag har precis kommit tillbaka från …

I’ve just come backfrom …

har du några planer för sommaren?

do you have any plans for the summer?

vad ska du göra på …?	what are you doing for …?
julen	Christmas
nyår	New Year
påsken	Easter

Swedish Question Words

who	vem	whose	vems
what	vad	which	vilken, vilket, vilka
why	varför	where to	vart
when	när	where from	varifrån
where	var	how	hur

Which has three different forms depending on the gender and number of the noun that follows it. Vilken is used with en words, vilket is used with ett words and vilka is used with plural words.

Yes/No questions: Invert the subject and verb so that the verb begins the question.

Arbetar han? Does he work? Regnar det? Is it raining?

Question Words: The question word begins the question, and the verb comes next, followed by the subject.

Var bor Sten? Where does Sten live? Vad gör Elsa? What does Elsa do?

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