Learn Hardcore Swedish: Jag frågar henne nu, men hon svarar egentligen imorgon. - I am asking her now, but she actually answers tomorrow.

Swedish often uses the present tense for future events when the time is clear from context, just like English sometimes does (e.g., “I leave tomorrow”). So hon svarar imorgon is perfectly natural.

To highlight intention/plan: Hon ska svara imorgon.
To make a neutral prediction: Hon kommer att svara imorgon.

All three are correct; the nuance is intention vs. neutral prediction vs. simple scheduling.

Where should the adverb egentligen go, and why is it after the verb?

Egentligen is a “sentence adverb” (satsadverbial). In main clauses, it normally comes right after the finite verb (same slot as inte, kanske, nog, faktiskt).

Correct: Hon svarar egentligen imorgon.
With a modal: Hon ska egentligen svara imorgon.
Avoid: Hon egentligen svarar imorgon (violates the verb-second rule).

You can also front it for emphasis: Egentligen svarar hon imorgon (then the verb still stays in second position).

Does egentligen sound natural here? Would faktiskt or först be better?

egentligen: “actually/technically/when you think about it,” often softening or correcting an assumption. Your sentence works if the speaker is correcting an earlier idea about the timing.
faktiskt: “actually/in fact” with a more assertive tone: … men hon svarar faktiskt imorgon.
först: “not until,” emphasizes lateness: … men hon svarar först imorgon. Use this if you want to stress that the answer won’t come before tomorrow.

Is the comma before men required?

It’s optional but common. Swedish allows a comma between two independent main clauses joined by men. Both are fine:

Jag frågar henne nu, men hon svarar …
Jag frågar henne nu men hon svarar …

Writers often include it for clarity.

Can I move the time word to the start? How does word order change?

Yes. Swedish main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule. If you front a time phrase, the finite verb still comes second:

Imorgon svarar hon egentligen.
Nu frågar jag henne, men …

If you keep the subject first, keep the time at the end: Hon svarar egentligen imorgon.

Where does negation go relative to egentligen and the time phrase?

Negation (inte) shares the same “middle field” as sentence adverbs and sits after the finite verb but before most complements:

Hon svarar egentligen inte imorgon.
With a modal: Hon ska egentligen inte svara imorgon.

Why henne and not hon?

Swedish personal pronouns have subject and object forms:

Subject: hon (“she”)
Object: henne (“her”)
Possessive: hennes (“her/hers”)

So: Jag frågar henne (I ask her). If you need a gender‑neutral pronoun: hen (subject/object), possessive hens.

Do I need a preposition with fråga and svara?

fråga (någon) = ask (someone): Jag frågar henne nu.
- “Ask someone about something”: fråga någon om något: Jag frågar henne om tiden.
- “Ask for someone” (ask after their whereabouts): fråga efter någon.
svara is intransitive or takes a person directly: Hon svarar mig imorgon.
- “Answer a question/thing”: svara på något: Hon svarar på min fråga imorgon.

Avoid adding unnecessary prepositions like “fråga till”.

Can I drop the subject in the second clause (… men svarar …)?

No. Swedish generally requires an explicit subject in each clause. Keep hon: … men hon svarar …

Is it imorgon or i morgon?

Both spellings are standard today. imorgon is very common in modern usage; i morgon is also correct. Be consistent within the same text.

Is there any difference between nu and just nu?

nu = now (broadly “at the present time”).
just nu = right now (more immediate, “this very moment”).

Your sentence with nu is fine; use just nu to stress immediacy: Jag frågar henne just nu …

Is the position of nu after the object the normal choice?

Yes. The default order is Subject–Verb–Object–(Adverbials):

Jag frågar henne nu.

If you want to emphasize time, front it: Nu frågar jag henne. Placing nu between the verb and a short object (e.g., Jag frågar nu henne) is odd in standard Swedish.

How would the sentence look with ska or kommer att?

Intention/plan: Jag frågar henne nu, men hon ska svara imorgon.
Neutral prediction: Jag frågar henne nu, men hon kommer att svara imorgon. With adverbs: … hon ska egentligen svara imorgon. / … hon kommer egentligen att svara imorgon.

Any quick pronunciation tips for tricky words here?

frågar: roughly “FROH-gar.” The å is a long “oh” sound; stress on the first syllable.
hon: roughly “hoon” (long oo).
egentligen: often reduced in speech; a workable approximation is “eh-YEN-tlee-en.” The “t” may be weak/assimilated.
imorgon: roughly “ee-MORR-gon” (rolled/trilled r is common; the first “o” in “morgon” is short, like British “hot”).