Jag är / du är

Use jag, du, han, hon for I, you, he, she. Swedish normally states the subject. Är is the present of vara and stays the same for every person: jag är, du är, vi är. Everyday du is normal with neighbours, older people and staff. Learn jag heter for my name is. Granne means a neighbour of any person; Swedish does not need different learner forms here.

A pronoun stands for a person or thing. A singular subject is one person or thing. The present tense describes now or a usual activity.

Är du …? / inte

For a yes/no question put the finite verb before the subject: Är du ny? Har du nyckeln? For a main negative statement, put inte after the finite verb: Han är inte min katt. After a question word, keep verb then subject: Vad heter du? Learn early short requests such as kom in and tala långsamt as whole phrases; their imperative forms are practised in module five.

En / ett / tack

Learn each noun with en or ett: en kopp, en katt, ett hus, ett kafé. These are common and neuter noun classes; they do not indicate a person’s sex. A definite noun usually adds -en or -et: koppen, huset. Learn den nya grannen as a greeting phrase; full definite describing forms come later. Short orders with tack are polite. Jag skulle vilja ha te is a courtesy chunk meaning I would like tea; it is not a future form.

An article introduces a noun: en or ett. Noun gender is common or neuter and is unrelated to a person’s identity. An infinitive is the dictionary form, such as ha. The conditional phrase jag skulle vilja is taught as a courtesy chunk only.

Bor / spelar / sover

Swedish verbs keep one form for all subjects. Useful patterns are spela → spelar, läsa → läser, bo → bor. Learn irregular vara → är, ha → har, vilja → vill. After vill and kan, use the infinitive without att: vill sova, kan spela. A main statement normally begins with subject then verb. When a time or place comes first, the finite verb still comes second: I morgon spelar jag.

The same verb form works with a singular or plural subject; plural means more than one.

Min / mitt / mina

Possessives agree with what is owned: min nyckel, mitt hus, mina saker. Din, ditt, dina follow the same pattern. Use the plain noun after a possessive: min nyckel, not min nyckeln. A possessive alone can refer to the noun: Kakan är min. Place words uppe, nere, här, där often come at the end. The early question Var allt bra? uses the whole past-state phrase; productive var comes in module four.

A preposition links a noun phrase to a place or person: i, på, till.