Yes/no questions (verb-first) and question words (vem, vad, var, när, varför, hur)
Can ask yes/no questions with the verb first and use the question words vem, vad, var, när, hur and varför.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Var bor du?
Where do you live?
Talar du svenska?
Do you speak Swedish?
Hur mår du idag?
How are you today?
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Swedish questions are simpler than English ones because there is no "do". The verb you already have moves to the front, which English still does with "be" and "can": "Are you...?", "Can you...?"
Answer ja or nej. And Swedish has a third answer English lacks: jo, "yes" to a negative question. Kommer du inte på festen? - Jo, det gör jag! - Aren't you coming to the party? - Yes, I am!
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| vem | who | Vem är det? - Who is it? |
| vad | what | Vad heter du? - What's your name? |
| var | where (at) | Var bor du? - Where do you live? |
| vart | where (to) | Vart ska du? - Where are you going? |
| när | when | När börjar lektionen? - When does the lesson start? |
| varför | why | Varför lär du dig svenska? - Why are you learning Swedish? |
| hur | how | Hur mår du? - How are you? |
| hur mycket / hur många | how much / how many | Hur mycket kostar en kanelbulle? |
| vilken / vilket / vilka | which | Vilken buss tar du? - Which bus do you take? |
The order is question word, verb, subject: Var bor du?, not *Var du bor? Vilken agrees with the noun: vilken buss (en-word), vilket hus (ett-word), vilka böcker (plural).
English "where" covers both place and direction; Swedish splits them. Var asks where something is, vart where something is going. Var är du? - Vart ska du? Mixing them up is common even among Swedes in speech, but in writing keep them apart. "Where from" is Var kommer du ifrån? or Varifrån kommer du?
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesNo 'do' auxiliary like English. Questions just move the verb to position 1.
Marking a yes/no question by intonation instead of moving the verb
Swedish needs verb-first: Talar du svenska? A statement order with a question mark (*Du talar svenska?) does not read as a question.
Var bor du?
Where do you live?
W-question: question word + verb + subject. No auxiliary needed.
Talar du svenska?
Do you speak Swedish?
Yes/no: verb first. No auxiliary like English 'do'.
Hur mår du idag?
How are you today?
'Hur mår du?' is the standard 'how are you?' in Swedish.
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Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises