Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hon tror att mötet börjar tidigt, men jag tror att det slutar sent. - She thinks the meeting starts early, but I think it ends late.

Example: Hon tror att mötet börjar… = She thinks that the meeting starts… It is spelled the same as the infinitive marker att (English to), but it’s a different function. In this sentence, both instances of att are the that-type, not the to-type.

Can I omit att after tror?

Often, yes—especially in speech and informal writing when the subordinate clause starts with a subject:

Hon tror (att) mötet börjar tidigt.
…men jag tror (att) det slutar sent. Keeping att is safest in formal writing and whenever omitting it could cause ambiguity. If the clause doesn’t begin with a clear subject or gets long/complex, prefer keeping att.

Why is it att mötet börjar and not att börjar mötet?

After att (in a subordinate clause), Swedish does not use V2 word order. The subject comes before the finite verb:

Correct: att mötet börjar
Incorrect: att börjar mötet This contrasts with main clauses, where Swedish typically uses V2 (verb in second position). Also note that sentence adverbs (like inte) go before the verb in subordinate clauses: att mötet inte börjar.

Why is it det in the second clause instead of repeating mötet?

Swedish normally replaces a clearly known noun with a pronoun to avoid repetition. Möte is an ett-word, so the pronoun is det:

…jag tror att det slutar sent. (= I think it ends late.) If the noun were an en-word (e.g., konferensen), you’d use den:
…jag tror att den slutar sent. Here det is referential (it = the meeting), not the dummy det as in Det regnar.

Is the comma before men required?

When men connects two full main clauses (each with its own subject and verb), a comma before men is standard and recommended:

Hon tror …, men jag tror … If the second part isn’t a full clause, a comma is usually not used. Swedish generally uses fewer commas than English; don’t put a comma before att.

What’s the difference between tror, tycker, and anser/menar?

tror: belief about facts or predictions, often with some uncertainty. Fits this sentence well: Jag tror att det slutar sent.
tycker: opinion/assessment. Use it for judgments: Jag tycker att det slutar sent (= I find that the ending time is late).
anser/menar: more formal or assertive; anser = consider/deem; menar = mean/hold the view. Avoid using tycker for plain factual beliefs like names, times, etc., unless you’re expressing a value judgment.

Why börjar and not startar?

Both exist, but:

börja is the default, most idiomatic verb for something beginning: Mötet börjar.
starta is common in technical/mechanical contexts or set phrases; Mötet startar is possible but feels more formal/technical. In everyday speech about meetings, prefer börjar.

Why are present-tense verbs used to talk about the future?

Swedish commonly uses the present to refer to scheduled future events, just like English:

Mötet börjar tidigt (i morgon). Alternatives:
Mötet ska börja tidigt (planned/arranged)
Mötet kommer att börja tidigt (prediction) All are fine; the simple present is very natural for timetabled events.

Why is it mötet and not möte or det möte for “the meeting”?

Swedish marks definiteness with a suffix:

Indefinite: ett möte (a meeting)
Definite: mötet (the meeting) You don’t say det möte. You add a fronted article only when there’s an adjective: det viktiga mötet (the important meeting).

Is sluta the right verb for “end”? What about ta slut or avslutas?

sluta: an event/activity stops/ends. Perfect here: Mötet slutar sent.
ta slut: something runs out/gets used up: Bensinen tog slut.
avslutas (passive): be concluded/finished, often more formal: Mötet avslutas klockan 18. Also note the other meaning of sluta = stop doing something: Sluta prata!

Are tidigt and sent adverbs here? Where do they go?

Yes, both function as adverbs modifying the verb:

börjar tidigt
slutar sent They typically come at the end of the verb phrase. Forms:
tidig (adj), tidigt (adverb/neuter), comparatives: tidigare, tidigast
sen (adj), sent (adverb/neuter), comparatives: senare, senast Colloquial sen also means then/afterwards (from sedan), but that’s a different word.

Could I repeat mötet in the second clause instead of using det?

You could say …men jag tror att mötet slutar sent, and it’s grammatically fine. Using det avoids repetition and sounds more natural once the referent is established in context.