Varför ljuger vittnet?

Because in Swedish, when you ask a wh-question such as why, the finite verb usually comes before the subject.

So the pattern is:

• Varför = why
• ljuger = lies / is lying
• vittnet = the witness

This is normal Swedish question word order:

• Varför ljuger vittnet? = Why is the witness lying?

Compare it with the statement:

• Vittnet ljuger. = The witness is lying.

So Swedish changes the order in questions, while English often uses do/does/is/are.

Because vittnet is the definite singular form of vittne.

The noun is:

• ett vittne = a witness
• vittnet = the witness

Vittne is a neuter noun (an ett-word), so the definite singular ending is -t.

Even though the word already ends in -e, you still add -t:

• ett vittne
• vittnet

This is very common in Swedish.

Ljuger is the present tense of the verb ljuga, which means to lie (to say something untrue).

Forms:

• att ljuga = to lie
• ljuger = lies / is lying
• ljög = lied
• ljugit = lied / has lied

In this sentence, ljuger can often be translated as either:

• lies
• is lying

Swedish present tense often covers both of those English meanings.

No. Swedish does not use do-support the way English does.

English says:

• Why does the witness lie?
• Why is the witness lying?

Swedish simply uses the main verb directly:

• Varför ljuger vittnet?

There is no extra word like does.

This is an important difference between English and Swedish.

Varför means why.

It is a question word, and it introduces the question. Because it comes first, the verb follows right after it:

• Varför ljuger vittnet?

Other Swedish question words work similarly:

• När kommer han? = When is he coming?
• Var bor du? = Where do you live?
• Hur mår hon? = How is she?

So varför is just the Swedish question word for why.

For many learners, the tricky part is the beginning lj-.

In most modern Swedish pronunciation, lj is pronounced roughly like the y sound in yes, not like a clear English l plus j.

So ljuger sounds approximately like:

• YOO-ger or YOO-yer, depending on accent and how detailed you want to be

A more Swedish-like pronunciation is roughly:

• /ˈjʉːɡer/

A few helpful notes:

• the lj is usually just a y-like sound
• the u is a Swedish vowel, not exactly like English oo
• the g is hard here

So don’t try to pronounce it as a full l-j combination in careful English style.

Yes. Vittnet is the subject.

Even though it comes after the verb in the question, it is still the person doing the action:

• vittnet = the witness
• ljuger = is lying

So the witness is the one lying.

In Swedish questions, the subject often comes after the verb, but its grammatical role stays the same.

The statement version is:

• Vittnet ljuger. = The witness is lying.

That is the normal subject-verb order.

Then the question changes the order:

• Varför ljuger vittnet? = Why is the witness lying?

This is a very useful pair to compare:

• Vittnet ljuger.
• Varför ljuger vittnet?

It helps show how Swedish question formation works.

Yes. Swedish present tense often covers both meanings.

So:

• Vittnet ljuger can mean The witness lies or The witness is lying
• Varför ljuger vittnet? can mean Why does the witness lie? or more naturally Why is the witness lying?

In many real contexts, English prefers the progressive form is lying, but Swedish does not need a special progressive tense here.

Usually, yes. The definite form vittnet normally means the witness, so it refers to a specific witness that the speaker and listener can identify from the context.

For example:

• in a trial
• in a news report
• in a story

If you wanted a witness, you would say:

• ett vittne

So:

• Varför ljuger vittnet? = Why is the witness lying?
• Varför ljuger ett vittne? = Why is a witness lying?

The sentence you gave most naturally refers to a known or already mentioned witness.