Indirect Questions in Swedish

Overview

Indirect questions are questions embedded within another sentence: "I wonder where he lives" or "Can you tell me if she is coming?" At the B1 level, these structures become essential for polite conversation, reporting what others asked, and expressing uncertainty.

In Swedish, indirect questions use either om (for yes/no questions) or a question word like var, när, vem, vad, varför, hur (for information questions). The critical point is that indirect questions follow subordinate clause word order -- the BIFF rule applies, so the word order is different from a direct question.

Getting indirect questions right is a significant step toward advanced Swedish, as they appear constantly in both casual and formal communication.

How It Works

Two types of indirect questions

1. Yes/no indirect questions -- use om (if/whether)

Direct question: Kommer hon? (Is she coming?) Indirect question: Jag vet inte om hon kommer. (I don't know if she's coming.)

2. Information indirect questions -- use the question word

Direct question: Var bor han? (Where does he live?) Indirect question: Jag vet inte var han bor. (I don't know where he lives.)

Word order change

The key transformation: direct questions have inverted word order (verb before subject), but indirect questions use straight subordinate clause word order (subject before verb):

Direct Question	Indirect Question	Change
Kommer hon?	...om hon kommer.	Verb-subject → subject-verb
Var bor han?	...var han bor.	Verb-subject → subject-verb
När åker vi?	...när vi åker.	Verb-subject → subject-verb
Varför ringde hon inte?	...varför hon inte ringde.	inte moves before verb (BIFF)

BIFF rule in indirect questions

Since indirect questions are subordinate clauses, inte and other adverbs go before the finite verb:

Direct	Indirect
Varför ringde hon inte?	...varför hon inte ringde.
Har han aldrig varit där?	...om han aldrig har varit där.
Kan du inte komma?	...om du inte kan komma.

Common introductory phrases

Swedish	English
Jag vet inte...	I don't know...
Jag undrar...	I wonder...
Kan du berätta...?	Can you tell me...?
Vet du...?	Do you know...?
Han frågade...	He asked...
Jag förstår inte...	I don't understand...
Ingen vet...	Nobody knows...

Vad som / vem som -- special case

When the question word is the subject of the indirect question, add som:

Direct	Indirect	Note
Vad hände?	...vad som hände.	vad is subject → add som
Vem kom?	...vem som kom.	vem is subject → add som
Vad ligger på bordet?	...vad som ligger på bordet.	vad is subject → add som

But when the question word is the object, no som is needed:

Direct	Indirect	Note
Vad sa han?	...vad han sa.	vad is object → no som
Vem träffade du?	...vem du träffade.	vem is object → no som

Examples in Context

Swedish	English	Note
Jag vet inte om hon kommer.	I don't know if she's coming.	om = yes/no indirect
Kan du berätta var han bor?	Can you tell me where he lives?	var = where
Han frågade när vi åker.	He asked when we're leaving.	när = when
Jag undrar varför hon inte ringde.	I wonder why she didn't call.	BIFF: inte before ringde
Vet du vem som vann?	Do you know who won?	vem som (subject)
Ingen vet vad som hände.	Nobody knows what happened.	vad som (subject)
Jag förstår inte hur det fungerar.	I don't understand how it works.	hur = how
Kan du säga mig vad klockan är?	Can you tell me what time it is?	Polite question
Hon frågade om jag hade tid.	She asked if I had time.	Reported question
Jag vet inte vilken som är bäst.	I don't know which one is best.	vilken = which
De undrar om vi kommer på festen.	They wonder if we're coming to the party.	om = whether
Berätta vad du vill ha.	Tell me what you want.	vad as object (no som)

Common Mistakes

Wrong: Jag vet inte var bor han. Right: Jag vet inte var han bor. Why: Indirect questions use straight word order (subject before verb), not the inverted order of direct questions.

Wrong: Jag undrar vad hände. Right: Jag undrar vad som hände. Why: When the question word is the subject of the clause, you must add som. Without it, the sentence is grammatically incomplete.

Wrong: Jag vet inte om kommer hon. Right: Jag vet inte om hon kommer. Why: After om, use straight word order: subject + verb. Om already signals that this is a question.

Wrong: Han frågade varför ringde hon inte. Right: Han frågade varför hon inte ringde. Why: Two fixes needed: subject before verb (hon ringde, not ringde hon), and BIFF rule (inte before ringde).

Wrong: Jag undrar vad sa han. Right: Jag undrar vad han sa. Why: Even when the question word is the object, the subordinate clause still needs straight word order: subject before verb.

Usage Notes

Indirect questions are used extensively in polite Swedish. Rather than asking a direct question to a stranger (Var är stationen?), Swedes often prefer the indirect form: Vet du var stationen är? or Kan du berätta var stationen ligger? This is considered more courteous.

In reported speech, indirect questions are the standard way to convey what someone asked: Hon frågade om jag ville följa med (She asked if I wanted to come along).

The vad som / vem som construction is a common stumbling block even for advanced learners. It is strictly required in standard Swedish and omitting som sounds clearly wrong to native ears.

In casual spoken Swedish, some speakers occasionally use direct question word order in indirect questions, but this is considered non-standard and should be avoided in writing.

Practice Tips

1. Transform direct to indirect -- write ten direct questions and convert each one into an indirect question starting with Jag undrar... or Vet du.... Focus on getting the word order right and adding som where needed.

2. The som test -- for every indirect question with vad or vem, ask yourself: is the question word the subject or the object? If subject, add som. Practice with pairs: Jag vet inte vad som hände (subject) vs. Jag vet inte vad han sa (object).

3. Practice polite requests -- rewrite five direct questions as polite indirect questions: Var är toaletten? → Kan du berätta var toaletten är? This is both a grammar exercise and a practical social skill.

Related Concepts

• Subordinate Clauses (parent) -- indirect questions are a type of subordinate clause with BIFF word order