Learn Hardcore Swedish: Jag kommer inte ihåg var jag lade nyckeln.

Yes. Komma ihåg is a particle verb meaning “to remember.” The particle is ihåg (which doesn’t occur by itself), and it combines with the verb komma to create a new meaning.

Present: Jag kommer ihåg.
Past: Jag kom ihåg.
With negation, the particle splits off: Jag kommer inte ihåg.
Infinitive/with another verb, it stays together: att komma ihåg.
Imperative: Kom ihåg!

Do not use future kommer att here; kommer att + verb marks future, while komma ihåg means “remember.”

Why is inte placed after kommer in Jag kommer inte ihåg?

Swedish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb is in second position. Sentence adverbs like inte go after the finite verb:

Pattern: Subject – Finite verb – inte – rest
Example: Jag kommer inte ihåg.

Inside a subordinate clause, the placement changes: Subject – inte – Finite verb – rest. So if you negated the embedded part, you’d get: … var jag inte lade (eller har lagt) nyckeln.

Why is it var jag lade nyckeln and not var lade jag nyckeln?

Because this is an indirect question (an embedded question). In Swedish indirect questions, you do not invert subject and verb. The order is:

Question word + Subject + Verb (+ objects/adverbs)

Hence: var jag lade nyckeln. The inverted order var lade jag … is only for direct questions.

Should it be var or vart here?

Traditional rule:

var = “where” (location, no movement)
vart = “to where” (direction/endpoint of movement)

Since lägga (to put) involves placing something (i.e., movement to a location), many speakers and style guides prefer vart in such contexts: … vart jag lade nyckeln.

However, in everyday Swedish, many people use var even when movement is implied, and you will often hear and see … var jag lade nyckeln. In careful or formal writing (or on tests), prefer vart for motion/destination; in casual speech, both are common.

Why is it lade and not lagt?

lade (or colloquial la) is the preterite (simple past) of lägga.
lagt is the supine, used with an auxiliary: har/hade lagt (have/had put).

Your sentence reports a past placing event, so preterite (lade) is fine. You could also use present perfect for a “current relevance” nuance: … var jag har lagt nyckeln (“where I have put the key”).

Is la acceptable instead of lade?

Yes. Both are standard:

lade = more formal/standard in writing.
la = very common in speech and informal writing.

Avoid non‑standard lagde (heard in some dialects but not standard Swedish).

Why is nyckeln in the definite form?

Because you’re talking about a specific, known key. Swedish marks definiteness on the noun with an ending:

Indefinite singular: en nyckel (“a key”)
Definite singular: nyckeln (“the key”)
Indefinite plural: nycklar
Definite plural: nycklarna

If you didn’t have a specific key in mind, you’d use en nyckel instead.

Can I replace nyckeln with a pronoun?

Yes. Nyckel is an en‑word, so use den:

Jag kommer inte ihåg var jag lade den.

In the embedded clause, the pronoun goes where the noun would go.

What’s the difference between Jag kommer inte ihåg and Jag minns inte?

They’re near‑synonyms and both fully idiomatic.

Jag minns inte … = a bit shorter and slightly more formal/neutral.
Jag kommer inte ihåg … = very common in everyday speech.

Both work before an indirect question: Jag minns inte/kom inte ihåg var jag lade nyckeln.

Could I say Jag har glömt var jag lade/har lagt nyckeln?

Yes. Glömma means “to forget”:

Resultative/now‑relevant: Jag har glömt var jag lade/har lagt nyckeln.
Simple past (less common here): Jag glömde var jag lade nyckeln can occur but often suggests the forgetting happened at a specific past time (and may or may not still be true now). With ongoing relevance, Swedes prefer the present perfect (har glömt).

Do I need att before the var‑clause?

No. With a question word (e.g., var, vem, när), you do not insert att:

Correct: Jag kommer inte ihåg var jag lade nyckeln.
With a “that”-clause (a statement), use att: Jag kommer ihåg att jag lade nyckeln på bordet.

Where does the particle ihåg go with other elements?

With a finite verb and sentence adverbs, the particle typically comes after adverbs like inte, alltid, nog:
- Jag kommer nog/inte/alltid ihåg …
With an infinitive or other non‑finite forms, the particle stays attached:
- att komma ihåg, försöker komma ihåg
Imperative keeps verb + particle together:
- Kom ihåg!

What are the principal forms of lägga?

Infinitive: lägga
Present: lägger
Preterite: la / lade
Supine: lagt
Past participle: lagd (en‑words), lagt (ett‑words), lagda (plural)

Any quick pronunciation tips for tricky words here?

Jag: often “yah” ([jɑː]/[jɑ]) in Sweden.
kommer: short first vowel; stress on the first syllable: KOM-mer.
ihåg: long å ([oː]), roughly “ee-HOHG”.
lade: “LAH-deh” ([ˈlɑːdɛ]).
nyckeln: “NYK-keln” ([ˈnʏkːɛl(n)]); the y is a front rounded vowel (like French “u”). The ck gives a hard [k] before e.

Do I need a comma before the var‑clause?

No. Swedish does not use a comma before an object subordinate clause in a sentence like this. Write:

Jag kommer inte ihåg var jag lade nyckeln. (no comma)