Learn Hardcore Swedish: Min kollega och jag väntar på en kund vid stationen. - My colleague and I are waiting for a customer at the station.

Because kollega is an en-word (common gender) in singular, so you use min: min kollega. Use mitt for ett-words (neuter) singular, and mina for all plurals.

min kollega, min bil
mitt företag, mitt hus
mina kollegor, mina böcker

Why jag and not mig after och?

Because the whole phrase min kollega och jag is the subject of the sentence, so you need the subject form jag. Use mig only as an object.

Min kollega och jag väntar … (subject)
De såg min kollega och mig. (object) Colloquially you may hear mig och … as a subject, but it’s non-standard.

Is Jag och min kollega wrong? Should the other person come first?

It’s grammatical either way. Style guides prefer putting the other person first (Min kollega och jag) in neutral/formal language, but Jag och min kollega is common in everyday speech.

Do I need a plural verb because there are two people?

No. Swedish present-tense verbs don’t change with person or number. It’s väntar for all subjects (jag/du/han/hon/den/det/vi/ni/de väntar).

Why väntar på and not just väntar or väntar för?

When you specify what you’re waiting for, Swedish uses vänta på. Vänta för isn’t used for this meaning. You can say just Jag väntar if the object is understood, or use Vänta! as an imperative.

Vi väntar på bussen.
Hon väntar på sin tur.

Can I say Vi väntar en kund to mean “We’re expecting a customer”?

Not if you mean “wait for.” Use vänta på en kund. Transitive vänta (“expect”) exists mainly in set phrases like vänta barn (“be expecting a baby”) or vänta besök (“expect visitors”). For general “expect,” use förvänta (sig): Vi förväntar oss en kund.

What’s the difference between vid stationen and på stationen?

på stationen = “at the station” in the usual, idiomatic sense (most common).
vid stationen = “by/near the station,” often implying just outside or in the immediate vicinity. Both can be correct; choose the one that matches what you want to emphasize.

Is i stationen ever correct?

Normally you say på stationen even if you’re inside. To emphasize being inside, use inne på stationen. Plain i stationen sounds odd in most varieties.

Why is it stationen (definite) here instead of en station?

Use the definite form when the place is specific and known in context (“the station”). Vid/på en station would mean “at some station or other,” not a particular one.

Can I move the two prepositional phrases around?

Yes. Both are fine:

Min kollega och jag väntar på en kund vid stationen.
Min kollega och jag väntar vid stationen på en kund. If you front a place phrase, keep verb-second order:
Vid stationen väntar min kollega och jag på en kund.

How do you pronounce och?

In everyday speech och is usually just a short o/å sound (often simply o). The fully articulated “och” is mainly for careful or emphatic speech.

How do you pronounce stationen (especially -tion-)?

The sequence -tion- is pronounced with the Swedish “sj”-sound, so stationen sounds roughly like “sta-SHOON-en” (with a long “oo”).

Why en kund and not kunden, or no article at all?

en kund = an unspecified customer (you’re not saying which one).
kunden = a specific customer both speaker and listener can identify.
Zero article (just kund) isn’t used for singular count nouns in normal prose; it appears only in set phrases or headlines.

Is kund always the right word, or should it be klient or gäst?

kund = customer in general (shops, companies, most services).
klient = client in certain professions (law, therapy, social work).
gäst = guest (hotels, restaurants), though they are still customers.

Could I just say Vi väntar på en kund vid stationen?

Yes. Vi (“we”) is often more natural when it’s clear who “we” are. Min kollega och jag specifies who “we” refers to.

When would I use sin/sitt/sina instead of min/mitt/mina?

Use sin/sitt/sina only with third-person subjects to mean “his/her/their own.” They aren’t used with jag/du/vi/ni. Here the possessor is “I,” so it must be min kollega.

Han väntar på sin kollega. (“his own colleague”)
Jag väntar på min kollega. (not “sin”)

What are the forms of kollega and kund?

kollega (sg indef) – kollegan (sg def) – kollegor (pl indef) – kollegorna (pl def)
kund (sg indef) – kunden (sg def) – kunder (pl indef) – kunderna (pl def)

How is väntar pronounced, and why is the ä short?

In väntar, the first syllable is stressed and the ä is short (like the e in “bed”), followed by a long consonant sound: roughly “VENN-tar.” Swedish typically has either a long vowel + short consonant, or a short vowel + long consonant; here it’s the latter.

Do I capitalize jag like English “I”?

No. jag is lowercase unless it starts a sentence. In Min kollega och jag … it stays lowercase.