Learn Hardcore Swedish: I helgen åker vi bil till centrum på söndagen. - This weekend we are going by car to the city center on Sunday.

Swedish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in second position. Because the sentence starts with the time adverbial I helgen (This weekend), the verb åker comes next, followed by the subject vi: I helgen åker vi …. You cannot say I helgen vi åker ….

If you don’t front a time phrase, normal order is subject–verb:

Vi åker bil till centrum på söndagen. You can also put the time at the end:
Vi åker bil till centrum på söndagen i helgen (grammatical but a bit redundant; usually you’d choose one of the weekend/Sunday expressions or phrase it more naturally as below).

Is it idiomatic to have both time expressions i helgen and på söndagen in one sentence?

Yes. I helgen sets the general time frame (this weekend), and på söndagen narrows it down to which day within that weekend. It’s not wrong or unusual, though many speakers might just say:

På söndag åker vi (bil) till centrum. (if it’s clear which weekend is meant)
I helgen åker vi (bil) till centrum, på söndag. (comma adds a slight pause/emphasis)

Why is it på söndagen and not på söndag?

på söndag = on Sunday (the upcoming one), a neutral way to refer to the next Sunday.
på söndagen = on the Sunday (of a specific, already identified time frame). Here, i helgen identifies the weekend, so på söndagen refers to the Sunday in that weekend. All of these are possible, with slightly different specificity:
Habitual: på söndagar / på söndagarna (on Sundays).
Specific upcoming: på söndag.
The Sunday within a known frame (e.g., “that weekend” or a narrative): på söndagen.

Why is it åker bil and not åker med bil?

The idiomatic way to express travel by a mode of transport is to use the bare noun: åka bil, åka buss, åka tåg. You don’t need a preposition.

åka med bil exists but sounds marked or contrastive (e.g., “go by car rather than by train”), and it’s far less common.
Use åka med mainly with a person or a specific vehicle: åka med Kalle, åka med bussen (the specific bus).

What’s the difference between åka bil, köra bil, and ta bilen?

åka bil = travel by car (focus on the mode of transport; you might be the driver or a passenger).
köra bil = drive a car (you’re operating the vehicle).
ta bilen = take the car (choose the car as your means, implies a specific car: the car you have access to).

Examples:

I helgen kör vi till centrum på söndag. (emphasis: we’ll be driving ourselves)
I helgen tar vi bilen till centrum på söndag. (emphasis: we’re taking our car)
I helgen åker vi bil till centrum på söndagen. (emphasis: the mode is “by car”)

Why is bil indefinite here (no article)?

With transport modes in Swedish, the bare singular is used to express “by X”: åka bil, åka tåg, åka buss. You only use the definite if you mean a particular vehicle:

Generic mode: åka bil (by car).
Specific vehicle: åka med bilen (with the car, i.e., the one we have).

Also note: bil is a common-gender noun: en bil, bilen.

Why is there no article before centrum in till centrum?

Destinations like centrum are commonly used without an article after till when you mean “to (the) city center” in general. Think of it as a conventional direction:

till centrum = to the city center/downtown (no article). If you really mean a specific center as an entity (e.g., a particular shopping center), you’d use the definite:
till centrumet/centret (the specific center). Grammatically, centrum is a neuter noun: ett centrum, definite centrumet/centret.

Could I say till stan or in till stan instead of till centrum?

Yes, very common:

till stan (“to town/the city,” colloquial; stan is the spoken/written definite form of stad).
in till stan adds the particle in to emphasize motion into the center from outside.
in till centrum is also fine. Register nuance:
till centrum is neutral.
till stan/in till stan is very idiomatic in everyday speech.

What is the typical order of manner, place, and time in Swedish?

At the end of a clause, a common order is:

Manner → Place → Time. Your sentence follows this: bil (manner), till centrum (place), på söndagen (time). When you front a time expression (like I helgen), the verb still must be second (V2): I helgen åker vi ….

Why does present tense åker refer to the future here?

Swedish often uses the present tense with a time expression to talk about scheduled or planned future events:

I helgen åker vi … = We’re going … this weekend. You could also use:
I helgen ska vi åka bil … (planning/intention)
I helgen kommer vi att åka bil … (more neutral prediction/statement)

Do I need a comma after I helgen?

No. Swedish typically does not use a comma after a short fronted adverbial. I helgen åker vi … is standard without a comma. You might add one for a strong pause with longer or parenthetical adverbials, but it isn’t needed here.

Is i helgen about the past or the future?

It depends on the verb tense and context:

Present: I helgen åker vi … = this coming weekend.
Past: I helgen åkte vi … = this past weekend. If you need to be crystal clear, you can say till helgen (upcoming) or i helgen som var (the weekend that just was).

Why is söndagen in the definite form?

Because it refers to a particular Sunday anchored to a known time frame—here, the weekend previously identified by i helgen. Without such an anchor, the definite på söndagen usually implies a specific Sunday already known from context (e.g., in a story). For the next Sunday in real time, use på söndag.

Could I drop bil and just say åker vi till centrum?

Yes. åka already means “travel/go (by some means).” If the mode is either obvious or irrelevant, you can omit it:

I helgen åker vi till centrum på söndag. Include bil only if you want to explicitly say “by car.”

Is mot centrum acceptable instead of till centrum?

till centrum = to the center (reaching the destination).
mot centrum = toward the center (directional, not necessarily reaching it). Use till for an actual destination; use mot for general direction.

Are day names capitalized in Swedish?

No. Day and month names are not capitalized in Swedish. So söndag, måndag, etc., are lower-case (unless at the start of a sentence).

How do I pronounce the tricky vowels here, especially å and ö?

å (as in åker) is like a long “o” sound, roughly like the vowel in English “taught” (without the off-glide). So åker ≈ “OH-ker” (first syllable long).
ö (as in söndagen) is like a rounded version of the vowel in English “sir” (British-ish). Round your lips while saying “er”: sön- ≈ “surn-” but with rounded lips. Tip: In -dagen, the g often softens to a “y”-like sound in many accents, so dagen can sound like “DAH-yen”: söndagen ≈ “SURN-dah-yen” (with rounded ö).