Learn Hardcore Swedish: Det är hon vars förslag vi valde igår. - It is she whose suggestion we chose yesterday.

After the verb vara (to be), Swedish normally uses the subject form (nominative) of personal pronouns. So you say Det är hon, Det var jag, Det är vi. Using the object form (henne, mig, oss) here is common in speech but is considered colloquial and is not recommended in careful writing. So stick with hon in this sentence.

Why is it Det and not Den in Det är hon ...?

In cleft sentences, Swedish uses the expletive/dummy det: Det är X ... This det does not agree in gender/number with the focused noun; it’s a fixed pattern. Use den only when referring back to a specific common-gender noun, e.g., answering a direct identification: —Vilken bok är din? —Det är den. But for clefts: Det är hon vars …

What does vars mean and how is it used?

Vars is the relative possessive pronoun meaning “whose.” It is:

Invariable (same form for singular/plural, people/things).
Followed by a noun: personen vars bil, företaget vars policy.
The head noun after vars is in its normal (usually indefinite) form: vars förslag (not vars förslaget).
You do not add som immediately after vars.

Your sentence literally means: “It is she, whose proposal we chose yesterday.”

Why isn’t there a som after vars?

Because vars itself is the relative element; adding som would be redundant or ungrammatical right there. Compare:

Possessive relative: hon vars förslag vi valde (no som).
Non-possessive relative: hon som vi valde (“she whom we chose” — different meaning).

Why is the order vi valde and not valde vi?

The part … vars förslag vi valde igår is a subordinate (relative) clause. In Swedish subordinate clauses, the finite verb follows the subject (SV order): vi valde. In main clauses with an initial adverbial, Swedish uses V2: Igår valde vi … but in subclauses it’s … som vi valde igår.

Why is it förslag and not förslaget after vars?

After vars, the possessed noun typically appears in its indefinite form, even though the reference is specific. So you say vars bil, vars idé, vars förslag. You would not use the definite suffix here (förslaget) unless there is another reason for definiteness (which there isn’t in this structure).

Is vars only used for people?

No. Vars works for both people and things:

Kvinnan, vars cykel blev stulen, …
Huset, vars tak läcker, … It’s the standard, natural choice in modern Swedish for possessive relatives, regardless of animacy.

What’s the difference between vars and vems?

Vars = relative “whose,” used inside relative clauses: personen vars hund skäller.
Vems = interrogative “whose?” used in questions: Vems förslag valde ni igår? — Vi valde hennes.

Can I replace vars with vilkens/vilkets/vilkas?

Technically yes, but it’s very formal/old-fashioned and rare in speech. The forms agree with the antecedent:

Utrum singular: vilkens
Neuter singular: vilkets
Plural: vilkas

Examples (stiff style): företaget, vilkets policy ändrades, …; personerna, vilkas idéer vi använde, … In almost all contexts, vars is preferred: företaget vars policy …

Could I just say Vi valde hennes förslag igår? How does that differ?

Yes. Vi valde hennes förslag igår is a straightforward sentence with neutral information structure. The cleft Det är hon vars förslag vi valde igår puts focused emphasis on hon (“she is the one …”), often used for contrast, clarification, or answering “Whose proposal did you choose?”

Does the tense in Det är hon … vi valde igår make sense? Why present then past?

Yes. The main clause is a present-time identification (Det är hon … = “She is the one …”), while the relative clause refers to a past event (vi valde igår = “we chose yesterday”). If you want to narrate the focus as past, you can also say Det var hon vars förslag vi valde igår; both are correct with slightly different discourse nuances.

Is igår or i går correct?

Both are standard. Modern usage often prefers the one-word forms (igår, idag, imorgon), and they are accepted by the Swedish Academy. Some style guides still prefer the two-word forms (i går, i dag, i morgon). Pick one style and be consistent.

How is vars pronounced?

In most accents, vars is pronounced roughly like “varsh.” The combination r + s often becomes a retroflex “sh”-sound. So: vars ≈ [vaʂː]. A few quick approximations:

hon ≈ “hoon”
förslag ≈ “fuhr-slaahg” (with long a in the second syllable)
valde ≈ “VAHL-deh”
igår ≈ “ee-GOHR”

Can I use gender-neutral hen here?

Yes. Det är hen vars förslag vi valde igår is fine if you’re referring to a person who prefers hen or whose gender is unknown/irrelevant. Vars stays the same.

What’s the difference between Det är hon vi valde igår and the original sentence?

Det är hon vi valde igår = “It is her that we chose yesterday” (we selected the person).
Det är hon vars förslag vi valde igår = “She is the one whose proposal we chose yesterday” (we selected the proposal, not the person).

So changing the structure changes the meaning.

Can I front the time expression? For example: Igår var det hon vars förslag vi valde.

Yes. You can front adverbials before the cleft: Igår var det hon vars förslag vi valde. The relative clause still keeps subordinate clause word order (vi valde, not valde vi). This just shifts emphasis slightly toward the time frame.

Do I need commas anywhere?

Not in the cleft as written: Det är hon vars förslag vi valde igår takes no internal commas. If you instead make hon the main subject and add a non-restrictive relative, you would use commas: Hon, vars förslag vi valde igår, är här.