Subordinate Clauses in Swedish

In Brief

A Swedish subordinate clause (bisats) often begins with att “that,” om “if/whether,” när “when,” medan “while,” or eftersom “because.” Its most useful word-order rule is BIFF: a sentence adverb such as inte comes before the finite verb (the verb that carries tense): Jag vet att hon inte kommer, “I know that she is not coming.”

Overview

A clause is a group of words containing a subject (who or what the clause is about) and a verb. A main clause can normally stand as a complete sentence: Hon kommer i morgon (“She is coming tomorrow”). A subordinate clause depends on another clause: att hon kommer i morgon (“that she is coming tomorrow”) does not usually make a complete statement by itself.

Subordinate clauses are an important A2 step because they let you connect ideas naturally. You can say what you know, ask whether something is true, explain a reason, or place events in time: Jag tror att han är hemma (“I think that he is at home”); Vi går ut när det slutar regna (“We will go out when it stops raining”).

For an English-speaking learner, the conjunctions are often easy to understand. Word order needs more attention. Swedish main clauses usually obey the V2 rule, meaning that the finite verb occupies the second grammatical position. A subordinate clause does not use ordinary V2 order. Its subject normally precedes the finite verb, and inte and other sentence adverbs normally stand between them.

How It Works

The basic structure

For the conjunctions in this lesson, a reliable beginner pattern is:

subordinating conjunction + subject + sentence adverb + finite verb + rest

A subordinating conjunction is simply a linking word that makes one clause depend on another. A sentence adverb comments on the whole statement; common examples are inte (“not”), alltid (“always”), aldrig (“never”), kanske (“perhaps”), and faktiskt (“actually”).

Part	Example	Function
conjunction	att	introduces the subordinate clause
subject	hon	tells us who acts
sentence adverb	inte	negates the statement
finite verb	kommer	carries present tense
rest	i dag	adds time information

Put together: Jag vet att hon inte kommer i dag — “I know that she is not coming today.”

BIFF: the central word-order rule

The traditional memory aid is BIFF: I Bisats kommer Inte Före det Finita verbet — “In a subordinate clause, inte comes before the finite verb.”

Compare the same information in a main clause and a subordinate clause:

Clause type	Swedish	English
main clause	Hon kommer inte i dag.	She is not coming today.
subordinate clause	Jag vet att hon inte kommer i dag.	I know that she is not coming today.
main clause	Han har aldrig varit där.	He has never been there.
subordinate clause	Hon säger att han aldrig har varit där.	She says that he has never been there.

With an auxiliary verb, inte comes before the finite auxiliary, not merely before the final action verb: att hon inte har kommit (“that she has not come”), om vi inte kan stanna (“if we cannot stay”).

BIFF is a strong and useful rule, but the slogan focuses on inte. The wider pattern applies to many sentence adverbs: att hon kanske kommer, eftersom han alltid arbetar hemma, om de redan har ätit.

The five core conjunctions

Conjunction	Main meaning	Typical use	Example
att	that	reports a thought, statement, fact, or perception	Jag tror att hon sover.
om	if; whether	gives a condition or introduces an indirect yes/no question	Ring mig om du behöver hjälp.
när	when	relates events in time	Vi äter när Anna kommer.
medan	while; whereas	shows simultaneous events or a contrast	Jag lagar mat medan han dukar.
eftersom	because; since	gives a reason	Vi stannar inne eftersom det regnar.

Att: reporting content

Use att after many verbs of thinking, knowing, saying, hoping, and noticing:

• Jag vet att du har rätt. — “I know that you are right.”
• Hon hoppas att tåget kommer i tid. — “She hopes that the train will arrive on time.”
• De säger att butiken är stängd. — “They say that the shop is closed.”

Do not confuse conjunction att with the infinitive marker att, as in att läsa (“to read”). In Jag vill läsa (“I want to read”), there is no subordinate clause with its own subject. In Jag vet att hon läser (“I know that she is reading”), att hon läser has the subject hon and a finite verb, so it is a clause.

Om: condition or “whether”

Om has two common jobs:

• condition: Jag följer med om jag har tid. — “I’ll come along if I have time.”
• indirect yes/no question: Jag vet inte om jag har tid. — “I don’t know whether I have time.”

Context normally makes the meaning clear. English sometimes distinguishes “if” and “whether,” but Swedish generally uses om for both meanings.

När, medan, and eftersom

När locates one event in relation to another. Swedish commonly uses the present tense for future events after när: Jag ringer när jag kommer hem (“I’ll call when I get home”).

Medan usually means that two things happen during the same period: Hon lyssnar på musik medan hon arbetar. It can also contrast two facts, much like English “whereas”: Lisa gillar kaffe, medan Erik föredrar te.

Eftersom introduces a reason. It is subordinating, so BIFF applies: eftersom jag inte mår bra. Compare för (“for/because”), which normally connects main clauses and therefore keeps main-clause order: Jag stannar hemma, för jag mår inte bra.

Where the subordinate clause goes

A subordinate clause can follow the main clause:

Vi går ut när regnet slutar.

It can also come first. The entire opening subordinate clause then occupies the first position of the following main clause, so the main-clause finite verb comes before its subject:

När regnet slutar, går vi ut.

The comma is usual when the subordinate clause comes first. Most importantly, do not apply BIFF to the following main clause. Its V2 order remains:

• Eftersom jag är trött, går jag och lägger mig.
• not: Eftersom jag är trött, jag går och lägger mig.

Examples in Context

Swedish	English	Note
Jag vet att hon kommer.	I know that she is coming.	att introduces reported information.
Vi tror att filmen inte är så lång.	We think that the film is not that long.	inte precedes finite är.
Han säger att han aldrig har varit i Malmö.	He says that he has never been to Malmö.	aldrig precedes finite auxiliary har.
Ring mig om du behöver hjälp.	Call me if you need help.	om gives a condition.
Jag vet inte om jag har tid.	I don’t know whether I have time.	om introduces an indirect yes/no question.
Hon frågar om vi inte kan komma tidigare.	She asks whether we can’t come earlier.	inte comes before finite modal kan.
Vi äter när barnen kommer hem.	We eat when the children come home.	när expresses time.
Jag ringer när jag är framme.	I’ll call when I arrive.	Present Swedish can refer to a future event here.
När vi var unga, bodde vi nära havet.	When we were young, we lived near the sea.	The opening clause causes inversion in the main clause: bodde vi.
Jag läser medan jag väntar på bussen.	I read while I wait for the bus.	Two events happen at the same time.
Sara arbetar hemma, medan Johan åker till kontoret.	Sara works from home, whereas Johan goes to the office.	medan marks a contrast.
Vi stannar hemma eftersom det regnar.	We are staying home because it is raining.	eftersom gives the reason.
Eftersom bussen inte kom, tog vi en taxi.	Because the bus did not come, we took a taxi.	BIFF inside the first clause; V2 in tog vi.
Jag hoppas att du kanske kan hjälpa mig.	I hope that you might be able to help me.	kanske precedes finite kan.

Common Mistakes

Leaving inte after the finite verb

• Wrong: Jag tror att hon kommer inte i dag.
• Right: Jag tror att hon inte kommer i dag.
• Why: In the subordinate clause, BIFF places inte before finite kommer. English does not signal the clause type with this same change, so this mistake is easy to make.

Applying main-clause inversion inside the subordinate clause

• Wrong: Jag vet inte om kommer han i morgon.
• Right: Jag vet inte om han kommer i morgon.
• Why: An indirect question uses subordinate-clause order: om + subject + verb. Direct-question order belongs in Kommer han i morgon?

Forgetting inversion after an opening subordinate clause

• Wrong: När jag kommer hem, jag lagar mat.
• Right: När jag kommer hem, lagar jag mat.
• Why: The opening subordinate clause fills the first position. The following main clause still follows V2, so lagar comes before jag.

Using BIFF in a clause joined with för

• Wrong: Jag går hem, för jag inte mår bra.
• Right: Jag går hem, för jag mår inte bra.
• Why: Here för joins two main clauses; it does not introduce a subordinate clause. Use eftersom jag inte mår bra if you want subordinate-clause order.

Treating every att as “to”

• Wrong: interpreting Jag tror att hon arbetar as though att arbeta were an infinitive.
• Right: Jag tror [att hon arbetar] — “I think [that she is working].”
• Why: A conjunctional att is followed by a clause with its own subject and finite verb. Infinitive att belongs directly with a non-finite verb: att arbeta (“to work”).

Usage Notes

In relaxed speech, att can be omitted after some common verbs: Jag tror (att) hon kommer snart. Keeping it is always a safe choice for a learner, and it often makes a long sentence easier to follow. Do not assume that every conjunction can disappear; this common omission mainly concerns complement att.

Swedish and English do not always divide tense in the same way. After när and om, Swedish often uses a present form for a future condition or event: Vi börjar när alla är här (“We’ll start when everyone is here”); Jag följer med om jag hinner (“I’ll come along if I have time”). Avoid inserting ska automatically just because the English translation uses “will.”

A subordinate clause may sometimes be used alone in conversation because the missing main clause is understood: Om jag hinner! (“If I have time!”) or Eftersom jag är trött (“Because I’m tired”). These are conversational fragments, not a change to the basic grammatical definition.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master every detail below at A2, but these patterns explain forms you will meet later.

Other kinds of subordinate clause

The same broad word-order principle appears with many more conjunctions, such as fast (“although/but”), trots att (“although”), innan (“before”), and så att (“so that”). It also appears in indirect questions beginning with a question word: Jag vet inte varför hon inte kommer (“I don’t know why she is not coming”). Relative clauses, usually introduced by som, form another major group: mannen som inte bor här (“the man who does not live here”). These deserve separate study because their functions differ even though BIFF remains useful.

Not every adverb behaves identically

BIFF is a teaching rule, not a complete theory of every Swedish adverb. Sentence adverbs such as inte, aldrig, kanske, faktiskt, and redan commonly occur before the finite verb in subordinate clauses. Adverbs describing manner, place, or time usually occur later: att hon kör bilen försiktigt, att de arbetar hemma, att vi träffas i morgon. The difference is about function, not simply whether a word is called an adverb.

Some placements can shift for emphasis, rhythm, or style, especially in speech and formal writing. As a learner, first make the neutral pattern automatic: conjunction–subject–sentence adverb–finite verb. Treat unusual orders as advanced stylistic choices rather than models to imitate immediately.

The boundary of the clause matters

In a longer sentence, first identify which words belong together:

Hon säger [att hon inte kan komma] [eftersom hon arbetar].

There are two subordinate clauses: att hon inte kan komma and eftersom hon arbetar. Each has its own subject and finite verb. Bracketing sentences this way makes word order much easier than trying to place inte by counting words.

Practice Tips

1. Build pairs. Start with a main clause such as Hon arbetar inte i dag. Put it after Jag vet att ... and move inte: Jag vet att hon inte arbetar i dag. Repeat with aldrig, kanske, and redan.
2. Practise both clause orders. Say Vi tar bussen eftersom det regnar, then move the reason first: Eftersom det regnar, tar vi bussen. This trains BIFF and main-clause V2 together.
3. Mark the finite verb. In a sentence such as att hon inte har kunnat komma, underline the tense-carrying verb har. Place the sentence adverb before that verb, not before the infinitive komma.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Word Order — review Swedish main-clause V2 before contrasting it with BIFF.
• Next step: Relative Clauses — learn subordinate clauses introduced chiefly by som.
• Next step: Temporal Conjunctions — expand beyond basic när and medan.
• Next step: Indirect Questions — study embedded questions with om and question words.
• Next step: Advanced Conjunctions — connect ideas with more precise relationships.
• Later: Indirect Speech — report what someone said using larger complement clauses.