Jag frågar doktorn om medicinen.

Frågar is the present tense form of the verb att fråga (to ask).

• att fråga = to ask
• jag frågar = I ask / I am asking

In Swedish, the present tense often ends in -r, so:

• jag frågar
• du frågar
• han/hon frågar

Unlike English, Swedish does not usually need a separate form like am asking. The present tense can often mean both:

• I ask
• I am asking

depending on context.

Swedish usually does not use a separate verb like am to form the present continuous.

So English:

• I am asking the doctor about the medicine

is often just Swedish:

• Jag frågar doktorn om medicinen

The simple present in Swedish can cover both a general present and an ongoing action. If the context makes it clear that something is happening right now, Swedish often does not add anything extra.

Doktorn means the doctor. The ending -n is the definite article, attached to the noun.

Compare:

• en doktor = a doctor
• doktorn = the doctor

This is a very common feature in Swedish: instead of putting a separate word before the noun, Swedish often adds the definiteness to the end.

For example:

• en bok = a book
• boken = the book

So doktorn is not a different word entirely; it is doktor with the definite ending.

For the same reason as doktorn: medicinen means the medicine.

Compare:

• medicin = medicine / a medicine
• medicinen = the medicine

So the sentence is specifically referring to a particular medicine, not medicine in general.

Here om means about.

So:

• fråga om något = ask about something

In the sentence:

• Jag frågar doktorn om medicinen
• I ask the doctor about the medicine

Be careful, because om can mean different things in other contexts, such as if:

• Jag vet inte om han kommer = I don’t know if he is coming

So the meaning of om depends on the sentence.

This is the normal Swedish word order for a main clause:

subject + verb + object + other information

Here:

• Jag = subject
• frågar = verb
• doktorn = object
• om medicinen = prepositional phrase

So the structure is very natural and similar to English:

• I ask the doctor about the medicine

Swedish word order is often fairly close to English in simple statements like this.

Doktorn is the person being asked.

In the sentence:

• Jag = I
• frågar = ask
• doktorn = the doctor

So I am doing the asking, and the doctor is the one I am asking.

A useful pattern is:

• fråga någon om något
• ask someone about something

So:

• Jag frågar doktorn om medicinen
• literally: I ask the doctor about the medicine

Yes, often you can.

• läkare = physician / doctor
• läkaren = the physician / the doctor

In everyday Swedish, läkare is often the more standard word for a medical doctor. Doktor is also common, especially in speech.

So both of these can work:

• Jag frågar doktorn om medicinen
• Jag frågar läkaren om medicinen

Depending on context, läkaren may sound a bit more formal or more specifically medical.

Because neither English nor Swedish uses to with ask someone in this structure.

In Swedish, the pattern is:

• fråga någon = ask someone
• fråga någon om något = ask someone about something

So:

• Jag frågar doktorn = I ask the doctor
• Jag frågar doktorn om medicinen = I ask the doctor about the medicine

You would not normally say frågar till doktorn here.

Yes. In many contexts, it can.

Swedish present tense often covers both meanings:

• I ask
• I am asking

The exact meaning depends on context.

For example:

• if you are describing what you are doing right now, it may mean I am asking
• if you are describing a habitual action, it may mean I ask

Without extra context, both are possible.

You would change frågar to the past tense frågade.

So:

• Jag frågade doktorn om medicinen
• I asked the doctor about the medicine

The rest of the sentence stays the same.

Compare:

• Jag frågar doktorn om medicinen = I ask / am asking the doctor about the medicine
• Jag frågade doktorn om medicinen = I asked the doctor about the medicine

A rough guide is FROH-gar, but with Swedish sounds.

A few helpful points:

• fr is pronounced together at the start
• å is a long vowel, somewhat like the vowel in British law, though not exactly the same
• the g is pronounced here
• the final -ar is not stressed strongly

So the stress is mainly on the first syllable:

• FRÅ-gar

If you are learning pronunciation, it is best to listen to native audio, because Swedish vowel sounds are very important and can be hard to guess from English spelling habits.

Yes, depending on context.

• medicin can mean medicine as a general substance or field
• it can also mean a medicine / medication
• medicinen means the medicine / the medication

So in this sentence, medicinen points to a specific medicine that both speaker and listener know about.

For example:

• Medicin är viktigt = Medicine is important
• Jag tar en medicin = I take a medicine / medication
• Jag frågar doktorn om medicinen = I ask the doctor about the medicine