Types of Subordinate Clauses in Swedish

In Brief

Swedish subordinate clauses (bisatser) fall into three useful groups: nominal clauses, which fill a noun-like role; adverbial clauses, which express circumstances such as time, reason, or contrast; and relative clauses, which describe a noun or an entire statement. All normally use subordinate-clause word order: a sentence adverb such as inte comes before the finite verb—the rule often remembered as BIFF.

Overview

A subordinate clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb that forms part of a larger clause rather than standing as an independent statement. In Jag vet att hon kommer, the words att hon kommer are a subordinate clause inside the full sentence. Swedish calls a main clause a huvudsats and a subordinate clause a bisats.

At B2, it is helpful to move beyond simply memorizing conjunctions and ask what job each clause does. A nominal clause does the kind of job a noun phrase can do—for example, serving as the subject or object. An adverbial clause gives the circumstances around an event: why, when, under what condition, or despite what fact it happens. A relative clause identifies or describes a noun, much like an adjective does.

This distinction helps with meaning and sentence construction. The three types share the same basic subordinate word order, but they enter the sentence in different ways. Adverbial clauses can often be moved to the beginning and trigger inversion in the following main clause. Relative clauses attach to something they describe. Nominal clauses occupy a necessary slot in another clause.

How It Works

Recognizing subordinate-clause word order: BIFF

A finite verb is the verb form marked for tense, such as kommer, kom or har. A sentence adverb comments on the whole statement; common examples are inte “not,” aldrig “never,” kanske “perhaps” and förmodligen “probably.”

In a Swedish main clause, the finite verb normally comes before a sentence adverb. In a subordinate clause, the sentence adverb normally comes before the finite verb. The school mnemonic BIFF stands for I Bisats kommer Inte Före det Finita verbet—“in a subordinate clause, inte comes before the finite verb.”

Clause type	Basic pattern	Example
Main clause	first element + finite verb + subject (if needed) + sentence adverb	Hon kommer inte i dag.
Subordinate clause	introducer + subject + sentence adverb + finite verb	… eftersom hon inte kommer i dag

Compare Han har inte ringt with Jag undrar varför han inte har ringt. In the subordinate clause, inte comes before the finite auxiliary har, not between har and ringt.

BIFF is extremely useful, but it applies only when there is a sentence adverb to place. A clause such as att du förstår does not visibly reveal the contrast because it contains no inte. Also, spoken Swedish sometimes allows main-clause-like order in certain embedded clauses; the standard subordinate pattern is still the safest choice in careful speech and writing.

Nominal clauses: a statement, question, or fact as a sentence part

A nominal clause (nominal bisats) occupies a role that could often be filled by a noun phrase. It may be an object, subject, or complement—a phrase that completes the meaning of another expression.

Clauses introduced by att

The conjunction att introduces a reported fact, thought, claim, hope, or possibility. In this use it is roughly English “that.”

• Jag tror att hon har rätt. — The clause is the object of tror.
• Att du kom gjorde mig glad. — The clause is the subject of gjorde.
• Problemet är att tåget inte går på söndagar. — The clause completes problemet är.

Do not confuse conjunction att with the infinitive marker att. In Jag hoppas att få svar the form after att is an infinitive phrase, not a full finite clause. In Jag hoppas att jag får svar, jag får provides a subject and finite verb, so this is a subordinate clause.

Swedish often retains att, although it can be omitted after some verbs of saying, thinking, or knowing, especially in less formal language: Jag tror (att) det blir bra. Keeping it is normally correct and often makes a long sentence clearer.

Embedded questions

An embedded question reports what is unknown instead of asking the question directly. Yes/no questions use om “whether/if”; information questions retain a question word such as vad, varför, när or hur.

Direct question	Embedded question
Kommer hon?	Jag undrar om hon kommer.
Var bor han?	Vet du var han bor?
Varför har de inte svarat?	Jag förstår inte varför de inte har svarat.

An embedded question does not use direct-question inversion. English behaves similarly in “I wonder where he lives,” not “where does he live,” but Swedish learners often carry the inversion from the standalone Swedish question into the embedded one.

When the question word itself is the subject, standard Swedish inserts som: Vad händer? becomes Jag undrar vad som händer. Compare Jag undrar vem du träffade, where du is the subject and vem is the object, so no som is needed.

Adverbial clauses: time, cause, condition, and contrast

An adverbial clause (adverbiell bisats) tells you under what circumstances the main event occurs. Its conjunction signals the relationship between the ideas.

Meaning	Common introducers	Example
time	när (when), medan (while), innan (before), efter att (after), så fort (as soon as)	Hon sjöng medan hon gick.
cause	eftersom, därför att (because)	Vi stannade hemma eftersom det regnade.
condition	om (if), ifall (in case/if), såvida inte (unless)	Jag ringer om jag blir sen.
concession	trots att, fast(än), även om (although/even if)	Trots att han är ung är han klok.
purpose	för att (so that/in order to)	Jag skriver ner det för att jag inte ska glömma det.
result	så att (so that/with the result that)	Hon talade långsamt så att alla kunde förstå.
comparison or manner	som om (as if)	Han såg ut som om han inte hade sovit.

The subordinate clause may follow the main clause. It may also occupy the first position in the whole sentence. When it comes first, the following main clause still obeys the Swedish V2 rule: its finite verb comes before its subject.

• Vi gick hem eftersom vi var trötta.
• Eftersom vi var trötta gick vi hem.

The entire opening subordinate clause counts as one first element. English says “Because we were tired, we went home,” but Swedish requires gick vi, not vi gick. This is one of the most important English-to-Swedish contrasts in complex sentences.

Some connectors that express similar meanings are not subordinating conjunctions. Därför “therefore” and ändå “nevertheless/still” are adverbs and occur in main clauses: Det regnade. Därför stannade vi hemma. By contrast, eftersom opens a subordinate clause: Vi stannade hemma eftersom det regnade.

Relative clauses: describing a noun or statement

A relative clause (relativ bisats) normally follows an antecedent, the word or phrase it describes. The most common relative marker is som, which can correspond to English “who,” “which,” or “that.” It does not change form for people, things, singular, or plural.

• mannen som bor här — the man who lives here
• boken som jag köpte — the book that I bought
• husen som byggdes i fjol — the houses that were built last year

When som is the subject of the relative clause, it must be present: mannen som bor här. When it is the object, it can often be omitted: boken (som) jag köpte. Swedish does not use a separate object pronoun to repeat the antecedent, so avoid forms modeled on “the book that I bought it.”

Other relative words carry more specific meanings:

• vars means “whose”: en författare vars böcker säljs över hela världen.
• där means “where” after a place: staden där jag växte upp.
• vilket can refer back to an entire preceding statement: Tåget var inställt, vilket gjorde oss sena.

Relative clauses use BIFF order too: en granne som aldrig klagar; boken som jag inte har läst.

Examples in Context

Swedish	English	Note
Det är viktigt att du förstår.	It is important that you understand.	Nominal att-clause completing the expression
Jag tror att hon inte kommer i kväll.	I think that she is not coming tonight.	inte precedes finite kommer
Att han tackade nej förvånade alla.	That he declined surprised everyone.	The whole clause is the subject
Jag undrar vad som händer.	I wonder what is happening.	vad is the subject, so som is required
Vet du varför de inte har svarat?	Do you know why they have not replied?	Embedded question with BIFF order
Hon sjöng medan hon gick.	She sang while she walked.	Simultaneous events
Eftersom bussen inte kom tog vi en taxi.	Because the bus did not come, we took a taxi.	Initial subordinate clause triggers tog vi
Trots att han är ung är han klok.	Although he is young, he is wise.	Concession followed by main-clause inversion
Jag tar med ett paraply ifall det börjar regna.	I’ll bring an umbrella in case it starts raining.	Precaution introduced by ifall
Säg till innan du går.	Let me know before you leave.	Time clause after an imperative
Det här är kollegan som hjälpte mig.	This is the colleague who helped me.	som is the relative-clause subject
Filmen som vi såg i går var fantastisk.	The film that we saw yesterday was fantastic.	som is the object and could be omitted
Hon bor i huset där hennes farfar växte upp.	She lives in the house where her grandfather grew up.	Place relative with där
Mötet ställdes in, vilket ingen hade väntat sig.	The meeting was cancelled, which nobody had expected.	vilket refers to the whole preceding statement

Common Mistakes

Putting inte after the finite verb

• Wrong: Jag vet att hon kommer inte.
• Right: Jag vet att hon inte kommer.
• Why: In a standard subordinate clause, the sentence adverb comes before the finite verb: inte kommer.

Forgetting inversion after an opening adverbial clause

• Wrong: När mötet är slut vi går och äter.
• Right: När mötet är slut går vi och äter.
• Why: The opening clause fills the first position. The main clause must therefore begin with its finite verb, går, followed by the subject vi.

Using question word order inside an embedded question

• Wrong: Kan du säga var ligger stationen?
• Right: Kan du säga var stationen ligger?
• Why: var stationen ligger is a subordinate clause, not a direct question. Its subject precedes its finite verb.

Omitting som when the question word is the subject

• Wrong: Jag vet inte vem kommer.
• Right: Jag vet inte vem som kommer.
• Why: In an embedded question, use som after a question word that functions as the subject.

Repeating the noun with a pronoun in a relative clause

• Wrong: Boken som jag köpte den var dyr.
• Right: Boken som jag köpte var dyr.
• Why: The gap after köpte already represents boken. Do not add den as an object.

Confusing eftersom and därför

• Wrong: Vi stannade hemma därför det regnade.
• Right: Vi stannade hemma eftersom det regnade.
• Why: Eftersom is a subordinating conjunction meaning “because.” Därför is the main-clause adverb “therefore”: Det regnade, därför stannade vi hemma.

Usage Notes

Modern Swedish does not automatically put a comma between every main clause and subordinate clause. Short, tightly connected clauses normally need no comma: Jag stannar hemma eftersom jag är sjuk. A comma can improve readability around a long introductory clause or parenthetical relative clause, but English comma habits should not be copied mechanically. In particular, a short initial subordinate clause is often written without one: När jag kom hem ringde jag henne.

Eftersom usually presents a reason as known or straightforward. Därför att also means “because” and can place more explicit focus on the reason, especially in an answer: Varför gick du? Därför att jag var trött. Spoken Swedish often uses för att with a causal meaning too, but eftersom or därför att is clearer in careful formal prose when “because” is intended.

Fast is common and natural for “although” in conversation: Fast det regnade gick vi ut. Trots att is neutral and explicit. Även om can describe either a real concession or a hypothetical one: Även om det regnar går vi ut can mean that rain will not change the plan.

In English, “that” may be dropped very freely. Swedish can omit att after some reporting and thinking verbs, but not in every structure. If you are unsure, retain it. By contrast, object som in a relative clause is often omitted in both speech and writing, provided the result remains clear.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Main-clause word order inside apparent subordinate clauses

In informal speech, clauses after verbs such as säga, tro and tycka may have main-clause word order, particularly when the speaker presents the embedded content as an independent assertion: Jag tror han kommer inte i dag. This phenomenon is often called embedded V2, meaning verb-second order inside an embedded clause. Its acceptability depends on the governing verb, meaning, register, and speaker variety. For dependable neutral Swedish, especially in formal writing, use Jag tror att han inte kommer i dag.

Choosing between om and att

Om introduces an indirect yes/no question or a condition; att introduces a proposition treated as a statement or fact.

• Jag vet att hon kommer. — I know that she is coming.
• Jag undrar om hon kommer. — I wonder whether she is coming.
• Om hon kommer börjar vi klockan åtta. — If she comes, we will start at eight.

The same om-clause can therefore be nominal or adverbial depending on its function. After undrar, it is what the speaker wonders and is nominal. At the beginning of the third example, it states the condition for starting and is adverbial. Clause type is about the clause’s job, not just its first word.

Free and sentence-relative clauses

Not every relative clause describes an explicitly stated noun. A free relative contains its own general reference: Den som kommer först får välja means “Whoever comes first gets to choose.” Here den som works as a unit referring to a person not yet identified.

A sentence-relative clause comments on a whole event rather than one noun. Swedish commonly uses vilket: Hon tackade ja, vilket gladde oss. Because vilket refers to the fact that she accepted, translating it as a simple noun-modifying “which” can obscure its role.

Several levels of subordination

Subordinate clauses can contain other subordinate clauses:

Jag tror att hon stannar hemma eftersom hon inte känner sig frisk.

The outer att-clause is nominal, while the inner eftersom-clause is adverbial. Analyze such sentences from the outside inward: first find the main clause (Jag tror), then identify what completes it, and finally inspect clauses nested inside that part. This prevents every conjunction from seeming to belong to the main clause.

Practice Tips

1. Run the inte test. Add inte to a sentence and compare the positions: Hon arbetar inte versus eftersom hon inte arbetar. This makes subordinate order visible even when the original clause had no adverb.
2. Move adverbial clauses. Rewrite pairs such as Vi går ut om det slutar regna as Om det slutar regna går vi ut. Check that the main-clause verb now comes before the subject.
3. Label the job, not only the connector. For each clause you meet, ask: Does it fill a noun-like slot, give a circumstance, or describe something? Then underline its introducer and circle the sequence subject–sentence adverb–finite verb.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Relative Clauses — introduces Swedish relative markers and the basic structure that this broader classification builds on.