A temporal clause pins one event to another in time — when I got home, while you cook, before you leave. In Swedish these are subordinate clauses: they open with a time word (när, då, medan, innan, sedan), they run in BIFF order internally, and — the detail English speakers most often miss — when one is fronted to the start of the sentence, the main clause's verb inverts. The single point that needs the most care is the split between när and då, two words that both translate as "when" but are not interchangeable. This page sorts out which time word does which job, and nails down the word order that comes with all of them.
när: the all-purpose "when"
När is your default "when." It covers every situation English "when" covers except one (see då below). Use it for repeated/habitual events, for the future, and for single past events — it is the word you reach for unless you have a specific reason not to.
När det regnar stannar vi inne.
When it rains, we stay indoors. Repeated/habitual event → 'när'. (And note the inversion: 'STANNAR VI' after the fronted clause.)
Ring mig när du kommer fram.
Call me when you arrive. Future event → 'när'. Swedish uses the present 'kommer', not a future tense, inside the time clause.
När jag var liten bodde vi i Lund.
When I was little, we lived in Lund. Single past event → 'när' is perfectly fine here. Note 'BODDE VI' — main verb inverts after the fronted time clause.
Notice the future example: inside a när-clause about the future, Swedish uses the present tense (när du kommer fram), exactly as English does ("when you arrive," not "when you will arrive"). Don't smuggle a kommer att future into the time clause.
då: a single completed past event (and "then")
Då also means "when," but it is restricted: it marks a single, completed event in the past and carries a more formal or literary tone. Where när is the everyday workhorse, då in this temporal sense feels bookish — common in narrative writing, less so in casual speech, where när covers the same ground.
Då kriget bröt ut var hon bara fjorton år.
When the war broke out, she was only fourteen. Single completed past event, narrative register → 'då'. (literary) — in speech you'd likely hear 'När kriget bröt ut...'.
Det var en kall morgon då de äntligen nådde toppen.
It was a cold morning when they finally reached the summit. 'då' marks the one decisive past moment, with a literary flavour. (literary)
Crucially, då has a second, far more frequent job: as an adverb meaning "then" ("at that time" / "in that case"). This is its everyday life. Don't confuse the two roles — the "then" då is an adverb inside a main clause, not a subordinator.
Vi bodde i Umeå då. Då var allt billigare.
We lived in Umeå then. Back then, everything was cheaper. Here 'då' = the adverb 'then', not the conjunction 'when'.
medan: "while" (simultaneous)
Medan ("while") links two events that happen at the same time. Both clauses typically run in an ongoing, overlapping tense — one action forms the backdrop for the other.
Medan du lagar mat dukar jag.
While you cook, I'll set the table. Two simultaneous actions. Fronted 'medan'-clause → main verb 'DUKAR' before subject 'jag'.
Hon läste tidningen medan kaffet bryggde.
She read the paper while the coffee brewed. 'medan' frames the two overlapping past actions.
Don't confuse medan ("while," time) with the way English "while" can mean "whereas" (contrast). For pure contrast, Swedish prefers medan too in writing, but the core meaning is simultaneity.
innan: "before"
Innan ("before") puts the main event ahead of the subordinate one in time. The same word can also act as a preposition before a noun (innan middagen, "before dinner"), but as a conjunction it opens a clause.
Ät innan du går.
Eat before you leave. 'innan' opens the time clause; the eating comes first in time.
Stäng fönstret innan det börjar regna.
Close the window before it starts to rain. Note the present 'börjar' inside the clause, even though the rain is yet to come.
sedan / efter att: "after" and "since"
For "after," the most common conjunction is efter att (literally "after that," followed by a clause), often with the verb in the supine/perfect. Sedan does double duty: as a conjunction it can mean "since" (a starting point in time), and as an adverb it means "then / afterwards / ago."
Efter att vi hade ätit gick vi en promenad.
After we had eaten, we went for a walk. 'efter att' + perfect ('hade ätit'). Fronted clause → 'GICK VI' inverts.
Det har gått tre år sedan vi flyttade hit.
It's been three years since we moved here. 'sedan' = 'since', marking the starting point.
Vi åt först och tog en kaffe sedan.
We ate first and had a coffee afterwards. Here 'sedan' is the adverb 'afterwards/then', not the conjunction.
Word order: BIFF inside, inversion when fronted
Every temporal clause here is subordinate, so two word-order rules apply, both inherited from the general clause-linking system.
Inside the clause: BIFF. A sentence adverb like inte comes before the verb, not after — the subordinate-clause signature.
Jag ringer dig när jag inte är så stressad.
I'll call you when I'm not so stressed. Inside the 'när'-clause, 'inte' sits BEFORE the verb 'är' — BIFF order.
When the time clause is fronted: the main verb inverts. A subordinate clause counts as a single element. Move it to the front, and it fills the main clause's first slot — so the V2 rule pushes the main verb to second position, before the subject.
När jag kom hem hade alla redan ätit.
When I got home, everyone had already eaten. Fronted 'när'-clause → 'HADE alla' — main verb before subject. NOT 'när jag kom hem alla hade ätit'.
Innan du fattar ett beslut bör du sova på saken.
Before you make a decision, you should sleep on it. Fronted 'innan'-clause → 'BÖR DU' inverts.
Tense inside time clauses
A recurring trap: Swedish keeps the present tense inside a när/innan clause that refers to the future, just as English does. And it does not require a special "sequence of tenses" — match the tense to the real time of the event.
Vi börjar när alla har kommit.
We'll start when everyone has arrived. Present perfect 'har kommit' inside the clause, not a future. English does the same.
Common Mistakes
❌ Då jag var liten bodde vi i Lund.
Borderline — for a single past event in casual speech, 'när' is the natural choice. 'då' here sounds literary/old-fashioned.
✅ När jag var liten bodde vi i Lund.
When I was little, we lived in Lund. Use 'när' as the everyday 'when'.
❌ När jag kom hem, jag åt middag.
Incorrect — no inversion. A fronted time clause forces the main verb before the subject.
✅ När jag kom hem åt jag middag.
When I got home, I ate dinner.
❌ Ring mig när du kommer att komma fram.
Incorrect — don't use a future tense inside the time clause. Swedish uses the present, like English 'when you arrive'.
✅ Ring mig när du kommer fram.
Call me when you arrive.
❌ Jag läste en bok då hon lagade mat. (meaning 'while')
Wrong word — for two simultaneous, ongoing actions ('while') use 'medan', not 'då'. 'då' is 'when (single past)' or the adverb 'then'.
✅ Jag läste en bok medan hon lagade mat.
I read a book while she cooked.
❌ Vi gick en promenad efter att vi åt. (single 'after' past)
Awkward — 'efter att' normally takes the perfect/pluperfect: 'efter att vi hade ätit'.
✅ Efter att vi hade ätit gick vi en promenad.
After we had eaten, we went for a walk.
Key Takeaways
- när is the all-purpose "when" — habitual events, the future, and single past events all take när.
- då as "when" is restricted to a single completed past event and is literary/formal; in speech use när. Its everyday job is the adverb "then."
- medan = "while" (simultaneous), innan = "before," efter att = "after" (usually + perfect), sedan = "since" (conjunction) / "afterwards, then" (adverb).
- All are subordinate clauses: BIFF order inside (inte before the verb), and a fronted time clause forces the main verb to invert (När jag var liten bodde vi i Lund).
- Use the present tense inside a future time clause — no future tense, no special sequence of tenses.
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