Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hon tvättar kläder på söndagar och är färdig på kvällen. - She washes clothes on Sundays and is finished in the evening.

Swedish present tense covers both ongoing and habitual actions. The adverbial på söndagar supplies the “habitual” meaning, so Hon tvättar kläder på söndagar naturally means “She washes clothes on Sundays.” You can add brukar for “usually” (e.g., Hon brukar tvätta kläder på söndagar) if you want to stress typicality, but it’s not required.

Why is it på söndagar and not something with another preposition?

For days of the week, Swedish uses på: på måndag, på söndagar. Compare:

på söndag = on Sunday (this/coming Sunday)
på söndagen = on the Sunday (a specific one)
på söndagar = on Sundays (in general) There’s also i söndags = last Sunday (note the different preposition and form).

Can I say om söndagarna or på söndagarna instead?

Yes. Both på söndagar and på söndagarna are common for habitual statements; the definite plural (-na) often feels a bit more like a settled routine, but the difference is small. Om söndagarna is also used in standard Swedish for recurring times (cf. om kvällarna), though på with days is the default.

Why is there no article before kläder?

Indefinite plural nouns in Swedish have no article. Kläder is also a plural-only noun (“clothes”), so you can’t say a singular form for “a cloth/clothe.” If you mean specific clothes, you’d use the definite plural: kläderna = “the clothes.”

Could I say tvätten instead of kläder?

Yes. tvätten means “the laundry.” Hon tvättar tvätten (på söndagar) is acceptable and common. You can also just say Hon tvättar på söndagar; context then makes clear it’s laundry, not, say, a car.

Can I front the time phrase? Is this word order correct: På söndagar tvättar hon kläder …?

Yes. When a non-subject element like a time adverbial starts the clause, Swedish obeys V2 word order: the finite verb comes second. So it must be På söndagar tvättar hon kläder, not “På söndagar hon tvättar kläder.”

Why is the subject not repeated before är färdig?

In coordinated clauses with the same subject, Swedish normally omits the repeated subject: Hon tvättar … och är färdig … is natural. You could repeat it (… och hon är färdig …) for emphasis or clarity, but it isn’t needed here.

Do I need a comma before och?

No. Swedish generally avoids a comma before och when coordinating clauses like this: Hon tvättar … och är …. A comma might appear in special cases (e.g., long insertions or to resolve ambiguity), but not here.

What’s the difference between är färdig and blir färdig?

är färdig highlights the resulting state: by evening, she is finished.
blir färdig highlights the transition: she gets/finishes by evening. Both are fine; är färdig på kvällen sounds very natural in habitual descriptions.

Is färdig interchangeable with klar?

Often, yes. In everyday speech, Hon är färdig ≈ Hon är klar. Subtle nuance: färdig can emphasize “finished/complete,” while klar often leans “ready” to proceed, but in many contexts they overlap. Both work in this sentence.

Does färdig change form?

Yes, adjectives agree in gender/number/definiteness:

common gender singular: färdig (e.g., hon är färdig)
neuter singular: färdigt (e.g., arbetet är färdigt)
plural/definite: färdiga (e.g., de är färdiga, det färdiga arbetet)

Why is it på kvällen and not på kvällarna?

på kvällen (definite singular) is idiomatic for “in the evening” of that day/time frame. With på söndagar as the frame, it means “on Sunday evenings (each Sunday).”
på kvällarna (definite plural) means “in the evenings” in a broader, across-days sense. It would sound like every evening, not only Sundays.

How is på kvällen different from i kväll?

på kvällen = in the evening (habitual or the evening of some day)
i kväll = this evening/tonight (specific, the coming evening today) So you’d use i kväll for a near-term plan, not for a general routine.

Does på söndagar apply to both parts of the sentence?

Yes, the time adverbial sets the frame for the coordinated event: she washes clothes on Sundays and is finished (that same day) in the evening. If you wanted to avoid any ambiguity, you could front it: På söndagar tvättar hon kläder och är färdig på kvällen.

Could I drop kläder and just say Hon tvättar på söndagar?

Yes. Hon tvättar often implies doing laundry if the context involves chores. Adding kläder merely makes the object explicit.

Is there any difference if I write Hon tvättar kläder på söndagarna?

It’s fine and common. The definite plural -na can make it sound a bit more like a fixed routine (“on the Sundays” as a set of days), but in practice both på söndagar and på söndagarna are used for habituals with minimal difference.

Can I move på kvällen earlier, like … och på kvällen är hon färdig?

Yes. That’s a natural alternative. When you front på kvällen, keep V2 in the second clause: … och på kvällen är hon färdig (not “på kvällen hon är”).

Any quick pronunciation tips for tricky words here?

tvättar: short ä (like the vowel in “bet”); stress on the first syllable.
kläder: long ä in the first syllable; d is pronounced.
söndagar: ö like rounded “uh” (French “de”); stress on sön.
färdig: ä as in “bet”; final g pronounced like a soft “y” in many accents [fär-diy].
kvällen: kv as in “kv”; short ä; double l shortens the vowel.

Could I use something like och sedan to clarify sequence?

Yes. Hon tvättar kläder på söndagar och sedan är hon färdig på kvällen makes the sequence explicit. You can also say … och då är hon färdig …; both are idiomatic.