På keramikkursen arbetar vi med keramik och har förkläden på oss.

In Swedish, på is often used for activities, events, lessons, and courses.

So:

• på kursen = on the course / in the course
• på lektionen = in class
• på mötet = at the meeting

Even though English often says in, Swedish commonly uses på in these situations.

Also, keramikkursen is the definite form, so it means the pottery course / the ceramics course, not just a pottery course.

Swedish makes compound nouns very freely, much more than English does.

So:

• keramik = ceramics / pottery
• kurs = course
• keramikkurs = ceramics course / pottery course

Then when you add the definite ending:

• keramikkursen = the ceramics course

This is completely normal in Swedish. English often writes these as separate words, but Swedish usually joins them into one.

The verb arbeta med means work with.

So:

• arbetar = work
• med keramik = with ceramics / with clay work / in ceramics

Here med shows what kind of work is being done or what material/activity is involved.

Examples:

• Jag arbetar med barn. = I work with children.
• Hon arbetar med musik. = She works with music.
• Vi arbetar med keramik. = We work with ceramics.

So med is the natural preposition after arbeta when you say what someone works with.

Both arbetar and jobbar can often mean work.

• arbetar is a bit more formal or neutral
• jobbar is more everyday and conversational

So this sentence could also be said as:

• På keramikkursen jobbar vi med keramik ...

That would sound natural too.
But arbetar can sound slightly more appropriate in a course or instructional context.

Because Swedish, like English, often leaves out the subject in the second part of a coordinated sentence when it is the same subject.

So:

• På keramikkursen arbetar vi med keramik och har förkläden på oss.

literally has:

• ... we work with ceramics and wear aprons.

You could repeat vi:

• ... arbetar vi med keramik och vi har förkläden på oss.

But that usually sounds less natural unless you want extra emphasis.

So omitting the second vi is normal and natural.

The singular is:

• ett förkläde = an apron

This is a neuter noun (ett-word). Its plural is:

• förkläden = aprons

So the forms are:

• ett förkläde = an apron
• förklädet = the apron
• förkläden = aprons
• förklädena = the aprons

This noun does not form its plural with -or or -ar. The plural -n is part of a common pattern for some neuter nouns ending in -e.

This comes from the expression ha på sig, which means to wear.

So:

• ha = have
• på = on
• sig = oneself

Together, ha på sig means be wearing.

When there is a clothing item, it often goes in the middle:

• Jag har en jacka på mig. = I am wearing a jacket.
• Hon har skor på sig. = She is wearing shoes.
• Vi har förkläden på oss. = We are wearing aprons.

So på oss belongs with the verb expression, and the object förkläden goes before it.

This word order is very common in Swedish.

Because the subject is vi = we.

The reflexive part changes depending on the person:

• jag har ... på mig = I am wearing ...
• du har ... på dig = you are wearing ...
• han/hon har ... på sig = he/she is wearing ...
• vi har ... på oss = we are wearing ...
• ni har ... på er = you are wearing ...
• de har ... på sig = they are wearing ...

So sig is mainly used for third person:

• Han har en hatt på sig.

But with vi, you need oss:

• Vi har förkläden på oss.

They are similar, but not always identical.

ha på sig

Usually means to be wearing something.

• Hon har en röd klänning på sig. = She is wearing a red dress.

bära

Can also mean wear, but it can sound a bit more formal, descriptive, or literary. It can also mean carry.

• Hon bär en röd klänning. = She is wearing a red dress.
• Hon bär en väska. = She is carrying a bag.

In everyday Swedish, for clothing, ha på sig is extremely common and often the most natural choice.

It can mean several closely related things, depending on context:

• ceramics as a material or art form
• pottery as an activity
• the school subject or craft area

In this sentence, arbetar vi med keramik suggests that on the ceramics course, we work with ceramics / do pottery work.

So it is not just the raw material in a narrow sense. It refers to the craft activity.

Yes, the word order is flexible, and the first position in a Swedish main clause is often used for whatever the speaker wants to highlight.

Here:

• På keramikkursen arbetar vi med keramik ...

puts the setting first: On the ceramics course...

That is very natural in Swedish.

If you start with vi, you get:

• Vi arbetar med keramik på keramikkursen.

That is also grammatical, but the focus is slightly different.

A useful rule: in Swedish main clauses, the finite verb usually comes in second position. So if you begin with På keramikkursen, the verb arbetar must come next:

• På keramikkursen arbetar vi ...

not:

• På keramikkursen vi arbetar ...

You could translate it literally that way to see the structure, but it would sound unnatural in English.

A more natural English version is:

• In the ceramics class, we work with clay/ceramics and wear aprons.

The Swedish expression ha ... på sig is very common, but English usually just uses wear instead of have ... on oneself.

So the literal structure can help you understand the Swedish, but it is not how natural English would normally express it.