Då ska jag vara färdig i tid, inte sen som förra gången.

Then I will be ready on time, not late like last time.

Breakdown of Då ska jag vara färdig i tid, inte sen som förra gången.

• jag: I
• vara: to be
• i: in
• ska: will
• inte: not
• gången: the time
• förra: last
• sen: late
• färdig: ready
• då: then
• tiden: the time
• som: like

Questions & Answers about Då ska jag vara färdig i tid, inte sen som förra gången.

What does Då mean at the beginning of this sentence?

In this context, då means “then” or “in that case,” referring back to a previously mentioned situation or time. It’s not acting as a subordinating “when” here but as a simple chronological or conditional connector: “Then I’ll be finished on time…”

Could you use kommer att instead of ska in ska jag vara färdig i tid?

Yes. You could say Då kommer jag att vara färdig i tid and it would mean essentially the same thing. Ska is more common in everyday spoken Swedish and often carries a sense of intention or plan, while kommer att is slightly more formal or neutral when talking about the future.

Why is it färdig and not klar? What’s the difference between vara färdig and vara klar?

Both färdig and klar can mean “finished” or “ready,” and in many cases they’re interchangeable. Färdig tends to emphasize that you’ve completed a specific task, whereas klar can sometimes emphasize that you’re ready or free. Still, saying vara färdig i tid or vara klar i tid would usually be understood in the same way.

Why is it i tid and not på tid to say “in time” or “on time”?

Swedish uses i tid for being punctual or arriving before a deadline. På tid is not used in this sense. If you want to stress plenty of time, you can say i god tid (“well in time”).

In inte sen som förra gången, why is it spelled sen instead of sent?

Here sen is the colloquial adverb spelling of the standard sent (“late”). In informal speech and writing Swedes often drop the ‘t’ and write sen. Officially you’d use sent, but sen is very common.

Why is inte placed before sen in inte sen som förra gången?

In Swedish word order, negation (inte) usually comes right before the word or phrase it negates. Since sen (late) is what’s being negated here, you say inte sen (“not late”).

Why is there no verb in the second part inte sen som förra gången?

Swedish often omits a repeated verb in a coordinate clause when it’s the same as in the first clause. The verb vara from ska vara färdig i tid applies again in the second part, so it’s understood and dropped for brevity.

What is the function of som in som förra gången?

Here som means “as” or “like” and introduces a comparison: som förra gången literally “as (it was) last time,” i.e. “not late like last time.”