Learn Hardcore Swedish: Jag sitter gärna i soffan, medan hon sitter på stolen vid fönstret. - I gladly sit on the sofa, while she sits on the chair by the window.

In Swedish, you usually use a position verb (like sitter, står, ligger) instead of är when you talk about where someone is and how they are positioned.

Jag sitter i soffan = I am sitting on the couch.
Jag är i soffan would sound strange; är is usually for being in a place in general, not for a specific body position.

Compare:

Han sitter på stolen. = He is sitting on the chair.
Han står vid fönstret. = He is standing by the window.
Hon ligger i sängen. = She is lying in bed.

So sitter here is the natural verb to describe “is sitting” rather than just “is”.

What exactly does gärna mean in Jag sitter gärna i soffan?

Gärna is an adverb that means something like:

“gladly”
“with pleasure”
“like to / prefer to”

It expresses that you like doing something:

Jag sitter gärna i soffan.
→ I like sitting on the couch / I’m happy to sit on the couch.

Other examples:

Jag dricker gärna kaffe. = I like drinking coffee.
Vi kommer gärna. = We’d be happy to come.

You usually put gärna after the verb:

Jag sitter gärna… (correct)
Jag gärna sitter… (sounds wrong in Swedish word order).

Why is it i soffan but på stolen? How do I know when to use i vs på?

This is one of the trickiest parts for English speakers, because you often say “on” in English where Swedish uses i, and sometimes Swedish uses på in places where English uses “in”.

In this sentence:

i soffan
Literally “in the couch”, but idiomatically means “on the couch/sofa”.
på stolen
Literally “on the chair”, same as English.

General tendencies (with many exceptions):

Soft, “containing” furniture where you “sink into” it: often i
- i soffan – on/in the sofa
- i sängen – in bed
Hard, more “surface-like” furniture: often på
- på stolen – on the chair
- på bänken – on the bench

But there are fixed expressions you just have to memorize:

i soffan, not på soffan (unless you mean literally on top of it, like standing on it).
i sängen (in bed), but på en madrass (on a mattress).

So: i soffan is the normal idiomatic way to say “on the sofa” when you are sitting there.

What does vid fönstret mean exactly, and how is vid different from nära?

Vid usually means:

“by”
“at”
“next to”

So:

vid fönstret = by/at the window.

Compare:

på stolen vid fönstret
= on the chair by the window.

Difference from nära (“near”):

vid fönstret — very close, right at or by the window.
nära fönstret — near the window, but not necessarily right at it.

Both can overlap in meaning, but vid often suggests direct closeness or contact (like sitting at a table, standing by a door, etc.):

Vi sitter vid bordet. = We sit at the table.
Han står vid dörren. = He stands by the door.

Why are soffan, stolen, and fönstret in the definite form?

They are definite because you’re talking about specific, identifiable objects:

soffa → soffan = the sofa
stol → stolen = the chair
fönster → fönstret = the window

Swedish usually uses the definite form when both speaker and listener can identify which object is meant, e.g.:

in the room you’re in,
or a sofa/chair/window that has already been mentioned,
or the “usual” one in that context (the window in that room).

If you said:

Jag sitter gärna i en soffa.
That would mean “I like sitting in a sofa (in general)”, not a particular one.
Hon sitter på en stol vid ett fönster.
“She is sitting on a chair by a window” (not specific).

In this sentence, it sounds like you’re describing a specific living room scene with the sofa, the chair, the window, so definite forms are used.

What are the genders of soffa, stol and fönster, and how do they affect the forms here?

Swedish has two grammatical genders: en-words (common gender) and ett-words (neuter).

In this sentence:

en soffa → soffan (definite singular)
en stol → stolen
ett fönster → fönstret

Patterns here:

en-words (common gender)
- indefinite: en soffa, en stol
- definite: soffan, stolen (add -n or -en)
ett-words (neuter)
- indefinite: ett fönster
- definite: fönstret (add -et)

You must memorize the gender with the noun:

Learn en soffa, en stol, ett fönster, not just the bare word.

Why is there a comma before medan? Is it always needed?

Medan introduces a subordinate clause meaning “while”.

In written Swedish, when a subordinate clause comes after the main clause, it’s very common (and usually recommended) to put a comma:

Jag sitter gärna i soffan, medan hon sitter på stolen vid fönstret.

If you reverse the order, the comma comes after the subordinate clause instead:

Medan hon sitter på stolen vid fönstret, sitter jag gärna i soffan.

In speech, you just use a pause instead of a comma. In writing, using the comma here makes the sentence clearer, and most style guides would include it, though you might sometimes see it omitted in less formal text.

Can I say medans instead of medan?

You will hear medans in spoken Swedish, and you may see it in informal writing, but:

medan is the standard, correct form in writing.
medans is considered colloquial / non‑standard.

As a learner, you should use medan in writing:

Jag sitter gärna i soffan, medan hon sitter på stolen vid fönstret. ✅
Jag sitter gärna i soffan, medans hon sitter på stolen… ❌ (non‑standard in writing)

Why is it hon and not henne here?

Hon is the subject form of “she”.
Henne is the object form (“her”).

In this clause:

hon sitter på stolen
“she sits on the chair”

Hon is the subject performing the action, so you use hon.

Examples:

Hon sitter där. = She sits there.
Jag ser henne. = I see her. (henne = object)

Also note the gender‑neutral pronoun hen (subject and object), which can be used instead of han or hon in some contexts:

Hen sitter på stolen vid fönstret.

Where should gärna go in the sentence? Could I say Jag gärna sitter i soffan?

The neutral word order is:

Subject – Verb – (Mid‑field adverb) – Rest

So here:

Jag sitter gärna i soffan…
Subject (Jag) – Verb (sitter) – Adverb (gärna) – Place (i soffan)

Jag gärna sitter i soffan sounds wrong to native speakers. The adverb gärna normally comes right after the verb in this kind of main clause.

Some variants are possible if you add emphasis, but for normal usage, stick to:

Jag sitter gärna i soffan.

Do I have to repeat sitter in the second part, or can I drop it?

In Swedish you normally repeat the verb; dropping it sounds unnatural in this sentence.

Correct:

Jag sitter gärna i soffan, medan hon sitter på stolen vid fönstret.

If you drop sitter, you get:

Jag sitter gärna i soffan, medan hon på stolen vid fönstret.
This is ungrammatical in standard Swedish.

Verb ellipsis (leaving out the repeated verb) is much more restricted in Swedish than in English, so as a learner, it’s safest to repeat the verb in cases like this.

Does sitter here describe a habit (“I usually sit”) or something happening right now?

The Swedish present tense can express both:

A general habit or preference
- Jag sitter gärna i soffan…
  = I like to sit on the sofa / I usually prefer the sofa.
An action happening right now
- In context, it can also describe the current situation: “Right now, I’m sitting on the sofa, while she is sitting on the chair…”

Swedish does not have a separate -ing form like “am sitting”.
Jag sitter can mean both “I sit” and “I am sitting”. Context decides which reading is more natural.