Word Order and Sentence Building

The standard word order in a simple Swedish statement is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), just like in English.

Example: Jag köper en bok. (I buy a book.)

The most important rule in Swedish declarative main clauses is the V2 (Verb-Second) rule.

This means the finite verb normally comes as the second element in a declarative main clause.

If you start the sentence with something other than the subject (like a time expression or a place), the subject must move to the position after the verb to keep the verb in the second spot.

Compare these examples:

• Jag (1) läser (2) en tidning nu. (I am reading a newspaper now.) - SVO

• Nu (1) läser (2) jag en tidning. (Now am I reading a newspaper.) - Time-V-S

This V2 rule is fundamental to forming correct Swedish sentences.

SVO Examples:

• Hon talar svenska. (She speaks Swedish.)

• Han äter ett äpple. (He eats an apple.)

• Vi bor i Sverige. (We live in Sweden.)

• De har en katt. (They have a cat.)

• Barnet sover. (The child sleeps.)

V2 (Inverted) Examples:

• Idag (Today) talar hon svenska. (Today speaks she Swedish.)

• I köket (In the kitchen) äter han ett äpple. (In the kitchen eats he an apple.)

• I Sverige (In Sweden) bor vi. (In Sweden live we.)

• På morgonen (In the morning) dricker jag kaffe. (In the morning drink I coffee.)

• Ibland (Sometimes) läser de böcker. (Sometimes read they books.)

• Där (There) är huset. (There is the house.)

Making Positive Statements

Forming a positive statement is straightforward using the SVO or V2 rules described above.

You state a fact or an action.

Examples:

• Jag heter Maria. (My name is Maria.)

• Solen skiner. (The sun is shining.)

• Bussen kommer nu. (The bus is coming now.)

• Han arbetar på ett kontor. (He works at an office.)

• Vi gillar musik. (We like music.)

• Hunden springer. (The dog is running.)

• Maten är god. (The food is good.)

• De pratar engelska. (They speak English.)

Forming Negatives and Questions

Negatives To make a sentence negative, you add the word inte (not).

In a simple SVO sentence, inte comes after the verb.

• Jag talar svenska. (I speak Swedish.)

• Jag talar inte svenska. (I do not speak Swedish.)

In a V2 (inverted) sentence, inte also comes after the verb.

• Idag talar jag... (Today I speak...)

• Idag talar jag inte... (Today I do not speak...)

Examples:

• Hon bor inte i Stockholm. (She does not live in Stockholm.)

• Vi har inte en bil. (We do not have a car.)

• Han kan inte komma. (He cannot come.)

• De gillar inte kaffe. (They do not like coffee.)

• Idag regnar det inte. (Today it is not raining.)

Questions There are two main types of questions.

For a Yes/No question, you invert the word order and start the sentence with the verb.

The subject moves to the second position.

• Du talar svenska. (You speak Swedish.)

• Talar du svenska? (Do you speak Swedish?)

For Wh-questions, you normally start with the question word.

If the question word is not the subject, the finite verb comes next and the subject follows: Var bor du? If the question word itself is the subject, no separate subject follows: Vem kommer?

• Var bor du? (Where live you? / Where do you live?)

Examples:

• Är du trött? (Are you tired?)

• Har de en hund? (Do they have a dog?)

• Regnar det? (Is it raining?)

• Vad heter du? (What are you called?)

• När börjar filmen? (When does the movie start?)

• Hur mår du? (How are you?)

• Varför läser du svenska? (Why are you reading Swedish?)

• Vem är det? (Who is it?)

Nouns: Gender and Number

Swedish nouns have two grammatical genders, which are not based on logic but must be memorized.

Gender affects the articles used.

• Common (Utrum): These nouns use en (a/an). About 80% of all nouns.

• Neuter (Neutrum): These nouns use ett (a/an).

Plurals Swedish nouns have several plural patterns. Five common patterns are shown below.

1. -or (Commonly for en-words ending in -a)

• en flicka (a girl) -> flickor (girls)

• en gata (a street) -> gator (streets)

2. -ar (Commonly for en-words ending in a consonant or -e)

• en pojke (a boy) -> pojkar (boys)

• en buss (a bus) -> bussar (buses)

3. -er (Often for en-words, especially international words or those ending in a stressed consonant)

• en stad (a city) -> städer (cities)

• en telefon (a telephone) -> telefoner (telephones)

• ett museum (a museum) -> museer (museums)

4. -n (Only for ett-words that end in a vowel)

• ett äpple (an apple) -> äpplen (apples)

• ett piano (a piano) -> pianon (pianos)

5. No ending (For ett-words ending in a consonant)

• ett hus (a house) -> hus (houses)

• ett bord (a table) -> bord (tables)

Articles and Determiners

Indefinite Articles (a/an) This is en or ett, depending on the noun's gender.

• en bok (a book - common)

• ett hus (a house - neuter) In the plural, Swedish normally has no indefinite article. To express "some," you can use några.

• några böcker (some books)

Definite Articles (the) In Swedish, definiteness is usually marked by a suffix (an ending) attached to the noun.

When an adjective comes before a definite noun, Swedish normally also uses the separate article den, det, or de.

The suffix changes based on gender and number.

• Common singular (en-words): the definite ending is usually -en after a consonant and -n after a vowel.

en katt (a cat) -> katten (the cat)

en bok (a book) -> boken (the book)

• Neuter singular (ett-words): the definite ending is usually -et after a consonant and -t after a vowel.

ett hus (a house) -> huset (the house)

ett äpple (an apple) -> äpplet (the apple)

• Plural (plural nouns): add -na, -en, or -a depending on the plural form.

flickor (girls) -> flickorna (the girls)

pojkar (boys) -> pojkarna (the boys)

städer (cities) -> städerna (the cities)

äpplen (apples) -> äpplena (the apples)

hus (houses) -> husen (the houses)

Practice Section

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in each blank with the correct word, letter, or form based on what you learned.

1. Jag ser _______ hund. (I see a dog.)

2. en flicka (a girl) -> _______ (girls)

True/False

Read each statement carefully and decide if it is True or False.

1. In a Swedish declarative main clause, the finite verb normally comes as the second element.

2. The definite article ("the") is a separate word placed before the noun.

Translation

Translate each English phrase or sentence into Swedish.

1. He eats an apple.

2. I see a girl.

3. She has two cats.