<\/p>\n
I’m sure you’ve heard it. I’m sure it’s confused you. Some pesky Swedish speaker saying things like Idag ska jag tr\u00e4ffa honom<\/em> and Det tror jag inte<\/em>. Sentences where the subject comes after the verb.<\/strong><\/p>\n “Blasphemy!”, you might be thinking. Truth be told, inverted sentences are, in fact, used in abundance in Swedish. But how? And when?<\/p>\n First of all, let’s look at the grammar. It’s not all that tough. Basically, when a sentence starts with something that isn’t a subject, the subject moves after the first verb<\/strong>. And that’s how you get an inverted sentence. Here’s how you convert a basic sentence into an inverted sentence in two ways:<\/p>\n Basic<\/span> Inverted 1<\/span> Inverted 2<\/span> As you can see, when I chose to start the sentence with something other than the subject, the subject was moved after the verb. (In negative sentences with\u00a0inte<\/em> “not”, the subject generally still comes immediately after the verb, and\u00a0inte<\/em> follows. This varies, however. More on this in another post.)<\/p>\n And that’s it! But when do we use the inverted structure?<\/strong><\/p>\n In cases such as Inverted 1<\/span> above, where an adverbial (e.g. a phrase of time or place) starts the sentence, inverted structure is obligatory. Any time you want to start a sentence with such an adverbial, the inverted structure must follow.<\/p>\n In cases such as Inverted 2<\/span>, there isn’t a perfect English direct translation. Basically, when you put the object first in the sentence like this, you are providing emphasis to whatever you’re putting first<\/strong>. In this example, you’re trying to say “I’m going to visit my grandmother<\/em> (i.e. not your aunt, whom I mistakenly thought you were going to visit).” Also in these cases, inverted sentence structure is obligatory.<\/p>\n So, to reiterate, inverted sentence structure is required whenever a sentence does not start with the subject<\/strong>. This is the same word order as in questions, where the verb always comes before the subject.<\/p>\n Finally, there are small, frequent structures<\/strong> like the following:<\/p>\n Det tror jag inte.<\/em> Det g\u00f6r jag.<\/em> Det vet jag.<\/em> Det tror jag inte<\/em> is just another way of saying Jag tror inte det<\/em>.<\/strong> Both are equally common. If you put intonational stress on det<\/em> in the inverted sentence, then you are emphasizing “That<\/strong>, I don’t believe”. If you don’t, it has the same meaning as Jag tror inte det<\/em> and is just another way of saying it.<\/p>\n Det g\u00f6r jag<\/em><\/strong> is used as a simple answer to a question.<\/strong> Gillar du den?<\/em> (Do you like it?) Ja, det g\u00f6r jag.<\/em> (Yes, I do.) Det g\u00f6r jag<\/em> could also be said Jag g\u00f6r det<\/em> in certain cases, but Det g\u00f6r jag<\/em> is used much more often. *Jag g\u00f6r<\/em> is never<\/strong> used.<\/p>\n Lastly, Det vet jag<\/em> is slightly different from Jag vet<\/em>.<\/strong> The difference is that Det vet jag<\/em> sounds more assertive, while Jag vet<\/em> sounds lighter. In other words, Det vet jag<\/em> sounds like “I know that (already)” and Jag vet<\/em> just sounds like “I know”:<\/p>\n Det \u00e4r s\u00e5 varmt ute!<\/em> – It’s so hot out! Det \u00e4r s\u00e5 varmt ute!<\/em> – It’s so hot out! Det vet jag<\/em> doesn’t have to sound rude, but it is definitely more assertive; it’s used to say that you, in fact, are already aware of something – not that you are agreeing with something.<\/p>\n And now you know the grammar and usage of inverted Swedish sentences! Enjoy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’m sure you’ve heard it. I’m sure it’s confused you. Some pesky Swedish speaker saying things like Idag ska jag tr\u00e4ffa honom and Det tror jag inte. Sentences where the subject comes after the verb. “Blasphemy!”, you might be thinking. Truth be told, inverted sentences are, in fact, used in abundance in Swedish. But…<\/p>\n
\nJag ska<\/strong> bes\u00f6ka min farmor ikv\u00e4ll.<\/em>
\nI’m going to<\/strong> visit my grandmother tonight.<\/p>\n
\nIkv\u00e4ll ska jag<\/strong> bes\u00f6ka min farmor.<\/em>
\nTonight, I’m going to<\/strong> visit my grandmother.<\/p>\n
\nMin farmor ska jag<\/strong> bes\u00f6ka ikv\u00e4ll.<\/em>
\nMy grandmother, I’m going to<\/strong> visit tonight.<\/p>\n
\nI don’t think\/believe so.<\/p>\n
\nI do.<\/p>\n
\nI know that.<\/p>\n
\nJag vet!<\/em><\/strong> – I know!<\/p>\n
\nDet vet jag!<\/em><\/strong> – I know that! (Why are you mentioning it?)<\/p>\n