Swedish word order: the verb-second rule

The most important rule of Swedish word order is that the finite verb comes second in a main clause. It does not have to follow the subject. It has to occupy the second position, and whatever comes first decides what follows. English speakers usually get the simple cases right and then stumble when a time word starts the sentence.

The basic pattern

If the subject comes first, the order looks like English.

• Jag bor i Stockholm. (I live in Stockholm.)
• Hon läser en bok. (She is reading a book.)

Swedish has no continuous tense. The same present form covers "I live", "I am living" and "I do live", so you do not need a helper verb.

Inversion: when something else comes first

If you start the sentence with something that is not the subject, the verb stays in second place, and the subject moves behind it.

Wrong: Nu jag bor i Stockholm. This is the classic mistake, because English allows "Now I live in Stockholm". In Swedish the verb must come before the subject, so you say Nu bor jag i Stockholm.

Questions

For yes/no questions, the verb comes first: Bor du i Malmö? (Do you live in Malmö?) Har du ett barn? (Do you have a child?)

For questions with a question word, the question word takes the first position and the verb comes second: Var bor du? (Where do you live?) Vad heter du? (What is your name?) När åker tåget? (When does the train leave?)

Where the negation goes

In a main clause, inte (not) comes after the verb: Jag förstår inte. (I do not understand.) If the sentence has a subject after the verb, inte follows it: Idag förstår jag inte.

Other short adverbs behave in the same way: Jag är alltid hemma på söndagar. (I am always at home on Sundays.)

Subordinate clauses are different

In a subordinate clause, which starts with a word such as att (that), om (if), eftersom (because) or när (when), the usual order changes: the adverb goes before the verb.

• Jag vet att han inte bor här. (I know that he does not live here.)
• Hon säger att hon alltid kommer sent. (She says that she always arrives late.)

Compare Han bor inte här (main clause, inte after the verb) with att han inte bor här (subordinate clause, inte before the verb). This is the second big word-order point to master.

Time, manner and place

When a sentence has more than one adverb, the usual order is how, where, when: Vi åker med tåg till Göteborg på fredag. (We are going to Gothenburg by train on Friday.) Word order is flexible here, but this pattern sounds the most natural.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the verb third. Wrong: Idag jag arbetar hemma. Right: Idag arbetar jag hemma.
• Putting inte before the verb in a main clause. Wrong: Jag inte förstår. Right: Jag förstår inte.
• Putting inte after the verb in a subordinate clause. Wrong: Jag tror att han bor inte här. Right: Jag tror att han inte bor här.

Practice

Verbs also change form for past time. See the preterite and the perfect.