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Questions & Answers about Jag ska studera svenska i juli.
What is the function of ska in this sentence?
Ska is a modal verb used to express a planned action or future intention. In Jag ska studera svenska i juli, it tells us that the speaker intends to study Swedish in July.
Why is there no att between ska and studera?
After modal verbs like ska, kan, måste, etc., Swedish omits att before an infinitive. So you say ska studera, not ska att studera.
What’s the difference between ska + infinitive and kommer att + infinitive?
- Ska + infinitive often implies a decision or plan made by the speaker (“I’m going to…”).
- Kommer att + infinitive is a more general future tense (“will…”) and can feel slightly more neutral or formal.
Example:
Jag ska åka imorgon. (I’m going to go tomorrow.)
Jag kommer att åka imorgon. (I will go tomorrow.)
Why is svenska not capitalized or preceded by an article?
- In Swedish, names of languages are always in lowercase (unlike English).
- When talking about a language in general, you drop the article. You don’t say en svenska unless you mean “a Swedish person” (en svensk).
Why is the preposition i used before juli? Could we say på juli?
Swedish uses i with months: i juli, i augusti, etc.
Using på with a month (e.g. på juli) is incorrect. På is used for days of the week or specific dates, e.g. på måndag, på julafton.
Where can the time expression i juli be placed in the sentence?
Swedish has V2 word order: the conjugated verb must be second. You can move i juli either before or after the verb clause, for example:
- Jag ska studera svenska i juli.
- I juli ska jag studera svenska.
Both are correct; the emphasis slightly changes.
How do you pronounce juli?
In Swedish, juli is pronounced /ˈjʉːlɪ/.
- j sounds like the English “y” in “yes.”
- u is like the “u” in “put,” but a bit more rounded.
- Stress is on the first syllable.
Why do we need the pronoun Jag at the beginning? Could it be dropped?
Swedish is not a pro-drop language, so subject pronouns are almost always required. You need Jag to show who is doing the action: Jag ska studera… If you drop it, the sentence would sound incomplete.