Learn Hardcore Swedish: Om gästerna kommer sent igen, ska jag skicka ett meddelande. - If the guests come late again, I will send a message.

om means “if” in Swedish and introduces a hypothetical or conditional situation—something that may or may not happen. när, on the other hand, means “when” and implies that the event is certain or routine. Since we want to express “If the guests come late again” (an uncertain condition), we use om.

Why is kommer in the present tense even though the sentence refers to a future possibility?

Swedish commonly uses the present tense to talk about future events in conditions and routines. In a clause introduced by om, kommer (the present tense of “to come/arrive”) is perfectly normal to cover both habitual and future situations: “If they arrive late again…”

Could I use the present tense (“Jag skickar…”) or kommer att instead of ska skicka…?

Yes. Swedish offers several ways to talk about the future:

Jag skickar ett meddelande: Using the present can imply a planned future action if context is clear.
Jag kommer att skicka ett meddelande: Also a future form, more common in writing or formal speech.
Jag ska skicka ett meddelande: Expresses intention or a firm plan. In spoken Swedish, ska is very common for “will.”

Why does the main clause begin with ska jag instead of jag ska?

Swedish is a V2 (verb–second) language in main clauses. The finite verb must come in the second position relative to the first element in the clause. After the comma, the main clause starts fresh, so ska (the finite verb) appears first and the subject jag follows.

Why is there a comma after the first clause (Om gästerna kommer sent igen,)? Is it mandatory?

When a subordinate clause (bisats) comes before the main clause, Swedish normally uses a comma to separate the two. If you reverse the order—main clause first and then subordinate clause—the comma can be omitted. For example:
Jag ska skicka ett meddelande om gästerna kommer sent igen. (no comma needed)

Why do we say gästerna (the guests) instead of just gäster?

gäster is the indefinite plural (“guests” in general). gästerna is the definite plural (“the specific guests you invited”). Since the sentence refers to those particular guests whose behavior matters, you use gästerna.

Why is meddelande preceded by ett?

Swedish nouns have two grammatical genders:

Common gender (uses en): en bok, en bil…
Neuter gender (uses ett): ett hus, ett meddelande…
You need to learn the gender with each noun. meddelande is neuter, so it takes ett in the indefinite form.

Why isn’t there an att before skicka?

After modal verbs like ska, vill, kan, måste, Swedish drops the infinitive marker att. So you say ska skicka (“shall send”) and not ska att skicka.

How do adverbs like sent and igen fit into Swedish word order?

Swedish generally follows this pattern in verb phrases:

Verb
Manner/time adverb
Repetition/frequency adverb
In kommer sent igen:
- kommer = verb
- sent (adverb of time/manner “late”)
- igen (adverb of repetition “again”)
  If you wanted to say “send a message again,” you would place igen after the object: skicka ett meddelande igen.

What is the difference between sent, sena, and för sent?

sent is an adverb meaning “late” (describing how someone arrives).
sena is the adjective form (“late” in predicative use), and it agrees in number/gender: gästerna är sena.
för sent means “too late.” It adds för to intensify the lateness or imply that something can’t be done anymore.

How do I pronounce gästerna, kommer, and skicka?

Here’s a rough guide using English approximations:

gästerna: “YEH-stehr-nah” (with ä like the “e” in “bed,” and hard g as in “go”)
kommer: “KOHM-mer” (short o like in “cot”)
skicka: “SHEE-kah” (soft sk
- i like “see”)
  Put the main stress on the first syllable in each word.