Vi förvarar maten i kylskåpet.

Because förvarar is the present tense form: we store / we keep.

• att förvara = to store, to keep
• jag förvarar = I store
• vi förvarar = we store

A lot of Swedish verbs work this way: the infinitive often ends in -a, and the present tense often ends in -ar.

Förvara means to store, to keep, or to keep something somewhere.

It is a bit more specific than just have. It suggests that something is being kept in a place, often the proper place for it.

So Vi förvarar maten i kylskåpet means that the food is kept/stored in the fridge.

Because maten is the definite form: the food.

• mat = food
• maten = the food

This is an important Swedish pattern. Instead of using a separate word like the, Swedish often adds the definite ending directly to the noun.

So:

• Vi förvarar mat i kylskåpet = We store food in the fridge.
  This sounds more general.
• Vi förvarar maten i kylskåpet = We store the food in the fridge.
  This refers more to specific food.

Because Swedish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

Examples in this sentence:

• maten = mat
  • -en = the food
• kylskåpet = kylskåp
  • -et = the fridge

So English uses a separate word:

• the food
• the fridge

But Swedish often uses an ending instead.

Because Swedish nouns belong to different grammatical genders.

• mat is an en-word
  
  • indefinite: en mat is not really common in normal usage, but grammatically it is an en noun
  • definite: maten
• kylskåp is an ett-word
  
  • indefinite: ett kylskåp
  • definite: kylskåpet

So:

• many en-words take -en in the definite singular
• many ett-words take -et in the definite singular

Because i means in, and the food is kept inside the fridge.

• i kylskåpet = in the fridge
• på kylskåpet = on the fridge

Since a fridge is an enclosed space and the food is inside it, i is the natural preposition here.

Because Swedish usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

kylskåp is made up of:

• kyl = cooling / chill
• skåp = cabinet / cupboard

So kylskåp is literally something like cooling cabinet, but in normal English it means fridge or refrigerator.

This is very common in Swedish. Where English may use two words, Swedish often uses one compound word.

Yes. I kylen is very common in everyday Swedish.

• kylskåpet = the refrigerator / the fridge
• kylen = the fridge

Kylen is a shorter, more conversational version. Both are correct.

So these are both natural:

• Vi förvarar maten i kylskåpet.
• Vi förvarar maten i kylen.

Yes, but this sentence has the normal basic word order for a Swedish main clause:

• Vi = subject
• förvarar = verb
• maten = object
• i kylskåpet = place expression

So the pattern is:

subject + verb + object + place

Swedish main clauses also follow the V2 rule, which means the verb usually comes in the second position. In this sentence, that happens naturally because the subject is first:

• Vi förvarar maten i kylskåpet.

If you move another part to the front, the verb still stays second:

• I kylskåpet förvarar vi maten.

That version is grammatical, but the original sentence is the most neutral and natural.