Okay people, I am going to attempt a request post here, a request for an explanation of ÄN, ÄNDÅ, ÄNNU och FORTFARANDE and the differences between them. I should probably leave this daunting task for a couple of days, since I’ve caught the cold of the century and I am trying my best not to blow my brains out here. But I’ll give it a go, starting off with ÄN and ÄNDÅ, continuing this same-same-but different thrill with ÄNNU and FORTFARANDE next time.

ÄN = THAN, STILL, YET
EX: Svenskabloggen är bättre än danskabloggen = The Swedish blog is better than the Danish blog.
Swedish ÄN in mostly used in the same way as the English THAN; to compare, for things that are bigger than…, smaller than…., more handsome than….

ÄN in also sometimes used in the following way:
EX: Än är det för tidigt för att ge besked = It’s still/yet too early to say anything definite
Here, ÄN has the same meaning as tomorrow’s words, ÄNNU and FORTFARANDE, and you can use those as well.

ÄN is also used in the following expressions:
än så länge = so far
EX: Jag gillar svenskabloggen än så länge = I like the Swedish blog so far
än sen då? = so what?
EX: Okej, än sen då? Okay, so what?
“om än…”
EX: Den är fin, om än lite dyr = It’s nice, but still/yet a bit expensive
Here, ÄN has almost the same meaning as ÄNDÅ, saying that even if the dress is nice, it is still a bit expensive.

ÄNDÅ = STILL, NEVERTHELESS, ANYWAY
EX: Sluta tjata, du får ändå inget godis ändå  = Nag all you want, you are still not getting any sweets
EX: Jag är inte hungrig, men jag ska äta den där hamburgaren ändå = I’m not hungry, but I’ll eat this burger nevertheless/anyway.

ÄNDÅ kan also be used the following way, meaning “while you are at it”:
EX: När du ändå håller på kan du väl städa köket? = While you are at it, can you clean the kitchen?

ÄNDÅ is also used in the follwing expressions:
Om ändå = if only
EX: Om ändå Brad Pitt kunde se mig! = If only Brad Pitt would see me!

Phew, this is complicated even for a native! But, more to come tomorrow, när jag ändå håller på.