Learn Hardcore Swedish: Jag hade redan valt en plats, men hon ville sitta bredvid fönstret. - I had already chosen a seat, but she wanted to sit next to the window.

Swedish uses past perfect (pluperfect) with hade + supine to show an action that was completed before another past action. Here, Jag hade redan valt happened earlier; hon ville happened later. If you say Jag valde en plats, you simply put both events in the past without highlighting that the choice was already done by the time she expressed her wish.

Where does the adverb redan go in this sentence?

In a main clause, sentence adverbs (like redan, inte) go after the finite verb (or auxiliary). Pattern: Subject + finite verb + sentence adverb. Hence: Jag hade redan valt ...; compare Hon vill inte sitta ....

Could I say Jag redan hade valt en plats?

Not in a main clause; that breaks the V2 (verb-second) rule. However, in a subordinate clause it’s correct: eftersom jag redan hade valt en plats (“because I had already chosen a seat”).

Can I use har redan valt instead? What changes?

Har redan valt is present perfect and ties the choosing to the present: Jag har redan valt en plats. To keep the time frame consistent, you’d then say: ... men hon vill sitta ... (present). With a past second clause (hon ville), use hade ... valt.

Why is it en plats but fönstret?

en plats is indefinite because the seat isn’t previously identified (just “a seat”).
fönstret is definite (“the window”), referring to the specific window by the seat in question. If you mean any window, say bredvid ett fönster.

Is plats the normal word for “seat”?

Yes, in tickets/reservations and public transport: plats (e.g., “plats 12B”). Other options:

stol = a physical chair.
säte = a seat (esp. in vehicles; technical/formal).
sittplats/ ståplats = seated/standing place (e.g., in arenas).

Should it be vid fönstret instead of bredvid fönstret?

Both work. vid fönstret is the most idiomatic way to say “at the window (seat).” bredvid fönstret literally emphasizes being next to the window. You could also hear intill fönstret (“right by the window”).

Why is it hon and not henne?

hon is the subject form (“she”). henne is the object form (“her”): Jag såg henne. There’s also the gender‑neutral subject pronoun hen.

Do I need att before sitta after ville?

No. Verbs like vill, kan, ska, måste take an infinitive without att: hon ville sitta. Adding att here would be wrong.

What’s the difference between vill, ville, and skulle vilja?

vill = want (present).
ville = wanted (past).
skulle vilja = would like (more polite/softer or hypothetical): Hon skulle vilja sitta vid fönstret.

What form is valt, and how is it different from vald/valda?

valt here is the supine of välja, used with har/hade (perfect tenses): har/hade valt. The past participle is adjectival and inflects: vald (common gender), valt (neuter), valda (plural): en vald plats, det valda alternativet.

Is the comma before men required?

When men links two main clauses, a comma before it is standard and helps readability: ..., men .... In very informal writing you may see it omitted, but the comma is recommended.

Can I drop the article and say valt plats?

No. With countable nouns like plats you normally need a determiner: en plats, min plats, or platsen. Bare plats occurs in set phrases like få plats (“find room”) but not here.

Can I put redan at the end: Jag hade valt en plats redan?

It’s possible but less neutral. End‑position redan sounds more colloquial or emphatic. The default placement is after the finite verb: hade redan valt.

Does the V2 (verb‑second) rule apply in the second clause too?

Yes. Hon ville sitta ... has the finite verb (ville) in second position. If you start with something else, the finite verb still goes second: Därför ville hon sitta ...

Why sitta and not sätta sig?

sitta = be in a seated state (“sit”). sätta sig = sit down (the action of moving into a seated position). If the focus were on the act of sitting down, you could say hon ville sätta sig vid fönstret; here, simply wanting the window seat makes sitta natural.

If I don’t mean a specific window, how do I say it?

Use the indefinite article: bredvid ett fönster or vid ett fönster. Bare bredvid fönster is ungrammatical.

Could I use utan instead of men?

Not here. utan (“but rather”) is used after a negation: Hon ville inte sitta i mitten utan vid fönstret. Without a preceding negation, use men.

Pronunciation tips for tricky words?

fönstret: Swedish ö like French “eu”; roughly “FURN‑stret” (with trilled or tapped r).
bredvid: stress on the last syllable in standard speech: bre‑VID.
hade: “HAH‑de”.
valt: “vahlt” (a as in “father”, final t pronounced).
plats: short a, final ts pronounced together.
ville: “VIL‑le” (short i).