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Questions & Answers about Jag vill ha fler böcker.
Why is the particle att omitted before ha in the sentence?
In Swedish, modal verbs like vill (want) are directly followed by the bare infinitive of the main verb. Unlike English—which uses “to have” after “want”—Swedish drops the equivalent att and simply uses ha, making the construction natural and grammatically correct.
What is the basic word order of "Jag vill ha fler böcker"?
The sentence follows the typical Swedish Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order. Jag (I) is the subject, vill (want) is the modal verb, ha (have) is the bare infinitive that follows, and fler böcker (more books) is the object phrase.
Why is fler used instead of mer when referring to books?
Swedish distinguishes between fler and mer based on countability. Fler is used with countable nouns, like böcker (books), to indicate “more” in number. In contrast, mer is reserved for uncountable nouns (e.g., mer vatten meaning “more water”).
Does the modal verb vill change its form based on the subject, and what tense is it in?
No, vill remains unchanged across subjects when used in the present tense. Whether you say Jag vill (I want) or Du vill (you want), the form vill is used consistently regardless of the subject.
How can I express the same idea more politely in Swedish?
A more polite or formal version would be to use the conditional form. Instead of saying Jag vill ha fler böcker, you can say Jag skulle vilja ha fler böcker (“I would like more books”). This mitigates the directness of vill and is often preferred in formal situations.