Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hon tycker att vardagarna är långa, så hon vill slappna av på kvällen. - She thinks the weekdays are long, so she wants to relax in the evening.

tycker att + clause
Used to express an opinion about a whole statement.
- Hon tycker att vardagarna är långa.
  = She thinks / finds that the weekdays are long.
tycker om + noun / verb
Means to like something.
- Hon tycker om vardagarna.
  = She likes weekdays. (The opposite feeling of the original sentence!)
tycker + adjective/adverb (without att)
Often needs an object or context, and is less common in this exact sense. You might see:
- Hon tycker så här: …
- Vad tycker du? = What do you think?

In this sentence, she is expressing her opinion about a full statement (vardagarna är långa), so tycker att is needed.

What is the function of att in Hon tycker att vardagarna är långa?

Here att is a subordinating conjunction meaning that in English.

Main clause: Hon tycker (She thinks)
Subordinate clause: att vardagarna är långa (that the weekdays are long)

So the structure is:

[Hon tycker] [att vardagarna är långa].

You generally must include att when introducing a statement like this:

Hon tror att det ska regna. = She thinks/believes that it will rain.
Jag vet att han kommer. = I know that he is coming.

Leaving out att is possible in some dialects or very informal speech but is not standard written Swedish.

Why is it vardagarna and not just vardagar?

Vardagarna is the definite plural: the weekdays.

en vardag = a weekday
vardagen = the weekday
vardagar = weekdays
vardagarna = the weekdays

Swedish often uses the definite plural when talking about a group in a fairly general but still “known” or “typical” sense – like the weekdays in her life / in a normal week.

You could say:

Vardagar är långa. = Weekdays are long.

This sounds a bit more like a general statement about weekdays as a concept.
Vardagarna är långa sounds more like the actual weekdays she experiences feel long to her. Both are grammatically correct; it’s a nuance of style and focus.

Why is the adjective långa and not lång?

Adjectives in Swedish agree with the number and definiteness of the noun.

en vardag är lång – singular, common gender → lång
två vardagar är långa – plural → långa
vardagarna är långa – definite plural → långa

So:

vardagarna (plural)
→ adjective must take -a: långa.

If it were singular:

Vardagen är lång. = The weekday is long.

Why is there a comma before så in …, så hon vill slappna av …?

In this sentence, så is a conjunction meaning so / therefore, and it starts a new main clause:

Clause 1: Hon tycker att vardagarna är långa,
Clause 2: så hon vill slappna av på kvällen.

Swedish often puts a comma between two independent main clauses when they are connected by men, för, så, etc.:

Jag är trött, så jag går hem.
Hon vill gå ut, men det regnar.

Note: så can also be an adverb meaning so / such, in which case you normally don’t have a comma before it:

Det är så långt. = It is so far.
Here så is not connecting two clauses, so no comma.

What is the structure of vill slappna av? Is slappna av one verb or two words?

Slappna av is a phrasal (particle) verb made of:

the verb slappna
the particle av

Together they mean to relax.

In the sentence:

vill = wants (modal/auxiliary verb)
slappna av = relax (infinitive)

So the pattern is:

[hjälpverb / modal] + [infinitive (verb + particle)]
Hon vill slappna av. = She wants to relax.

In some tenses, the verb and the particle can be split:

Hon slappnar av på kvällen.
Hon ska slappna av på kvällen.
Hon vill gärna slappna av.

But you wouldn’t normally say hon vill slappna på kvällen av – the particle stays with the verb phrase as a unit.

What is the difference between slappna av, koppla av, and ta det lugnt?

All three relate to relaxing, but with slightly different nuances:

slappna av – literally relax, often about your body or tension, but also general.
- Hon vill slappna av efter jobbet.
koppla av – also relax / unwind, sometimes with a nuance of disconnecting mentally from work or stress.
- Jag kopplar av när jag läser böcker.
ta det lugnt – take it easy, be calm, not do too much.
- I helgen ska jag bara ta det lugnt.

In this sentence, slappna av is very natural, but koppla av would also fit:

…, så hon vill koppla av på kvällen.

Why is it på kvällen and not i kvällen or på kvällarna?

Swedish has fixed patterns for times of day:

på morgonen – in the morning
på dagen – in the daytime
på kvällen – in the evening
på natten – at night

Here, på kvällen with singular definite (kvällen) often means something like:

in the evenings / in the evening (as a typical time of day)

So Hon vill slappna av på kvällen can mean she wants to relax in the evening (typically / usually).

Other options and nuances:

i kväll = this evening (specific, tonight)
- Hon vill slappna av i kväll. = She wants to relax this evening.
på kvällarna = in the evenings (repeated, more clearly habitual)
- Hon vill slappna av på kvällarna. = She likes to relax in the evenings (as a habit).

So på kvällen can already imply a general, typical time of day without needing the plural.

Why is kvällen singular when we’re talking about something that happens regularly?

This is a common Swedish pattern:

på morgonen – in the morning(s)
på eftermiddagen – in the afternoon(s)
på kvällen – in the evening(s)
på natten – at night

Even though it’s singular definite, it often refers to a typical or habitual time of day, not just one single evening.

So:

Hon vill slappna av på kvällen.
≈ She wants to relax in the evening (as her usual time).

If you want to be extra clear about repetition, you can use the plural:

på kvällarna = in the evenings (regularly)

But på kvällen already sounds quite natural for a general habit.

Can I change the word order, like På kvällen vill hon slappna av? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is correct and very natural.

Swedish uses V2 word order in main clauses: the finite verb (here vill) tends to come in second position, no matter what comes first.

Two versions:

Neutral order:
- Hon vill slappna av på kvällen.
  - 1st: Hon (subject)
  - 2nd: vill (verb)
With time expression first (for emphasis or style):
- På kvällen vill hon slappna av.
  - 1st: På kvällen (adverbial)
  - 2nd: vill (verb)
  - Subject hon moves after the verb.

Both sentences mean the same thing; the second one puts a bit more emphasis on på kvällen.

What exactly does vardagar mean? Is it the same as dagar?

Vardag specifically means weekday, i.e., a normal working day (usually Monday–Friday).

en dag = a day (any day)
en vardag = a weekday (not weekend or holiday)
en helg = a weekend / holiday

So:

vardagarna = the weekdays (Mon–Fri)
dagarna = the days (could be any days, depending on context)

In this sentence, vardagarna tells us she finds weekdays long (probably workdays), not necessarily weekends.