Learn Hardcore Swedish: I kylskåpet står mjölk, smör och ost bredvid varandra. - In the fridge there is milk, butter and cheese standing next to each other.

stå – used when something is upright, on its base, or just stored vertically (bottles, cartons, jars, etc.).
- I kylskåpet står mjölk… = In the fridge the milk is (standing).
ligga – used for things lying down, spread out, or horizontal (books on a table, clothes on the floor).
sitta – used when something is “sitting” in a holder, attached, or a person is actually sitting.

English normally just says be (“is/are”), but Swedish likes to specify the “position” more precisely. Using är here would be grammatically correct but much less natural: I kylskåpet är mjölk, smör och ost sounds a bit flat or bookish compared to står.

Why does the verb come before the list mjölk, smör och ost? Shouldn’t the subject come first?

Swedish has a V2 word order rule: in a main clause, the finite verb almost always comes in second place in the sentence, no matter what comes first.

The sentence starts with the place phrase: I kylskåpet (In the fridge) → that takes the first position.
Because of V2, the verb står must then be in second position.
The subject mjölk, smör och ost therefore comes after the verb.

So the structure is:

I kylskåpet (adverbial, first position)
står (finite verb, second position)
mjölk, smör och ost (subject)
bredvid varandra (adverbial phrase)

If you start the sentence with the subject instead, then the subject takes first position and the verb still comes second:

Mjölk, smör och ost står bredvid varandra i kylskåpet.

Could I also say Mjölk, smör och ost står bredvid varandra i kylskåpet? Is it different in meaning?

Yes, that version is perfectly correct and very natural.

I kylskåpet står mjölk, smör och ost bredvid varandra.
– Slight emphasis on the fridge as the “scene” where things are.
Mjölk, smör och ost står bredvid varandra i kylskåpet.
– Slight emphasis on what is standing together (milk, butter, cheese), and then you add where.

The basic meaning is the same. It’s just a different focus and word order, both fully normal.

What is the grammatical subject of this sentence?

The subject is the whole noun phrase:

mjölk, smör och ost

Even though it’s a list, together they form one plural subject: the milk, butter and cheese.

The verb står agrees with this plural subject (though Swedish verbs don’t change form in the plural like English is/are). The initial I kylskåpet is not the subject; it’s an adverbial phrase (a place expression).

Why is kylskåpet in the definite form, but mjölk, smör and ost are not?

Swedish normally marks definiteness with an ending on the noun instead of a separate word like English the.

kylskåp = fridge (indefinite)
kylskåpet = the fridge (definite; -et is the definite ending for an ett-word)

For mjölk, smör, and ost:

mjölk (milk), smör (butter), and ost (cheese) are often used as mass nouns in Swedish.
When you talk about “some milk, some butter, some cheese” in a general way, you typically use the indefinite, bare form:
- Det finns mjölk i kylskåpet. – There is (some) milk in the fridge.
You only use the definite form when you mean specific, known items:
- Mjölken, smöret och osten står i kylskåpet. – The milk, the butter and the cheese (that we already know about).

How is kylskåpet formed from kylskåp, and what gender is it?

Kylskåp is an ett-word:

Indefinite singular: ett kylskåp – a fridge
Definite singular: kylskåpet – the fridge
- formed by adding -et to the singular base kylskåp

Full mini-paradigm:

ett kylskåp – a fridge
kylskåpet – the fridge
flera kylskåp – several fridges (plural has no extra ending here)
kylskåpen – the fridges (definite plural)

So kylskåpet literally means “fridge-the”.

Why are mjölk, smör and ost written without any article like en/ett or den/det/de?

There are two main reasons:

Mass nouns / uncountable use
- mjölk, smör and ost are often treated as mass nouns (not counted as 1, 2, 3 items) in Swedish.
- For an unspecified amount, Swedish usually uses the bare form:
  - Jag köper mjölk. – I’m buying (some) milk.
Listing items in a generic way
- When listing several types of things that are present, Swedish often omits articles if it’s clear from context:
  - I kylskåpet står mjölk, smör och ost…

If you want to make them clearly definite and specific, you can use the definite forms:

I kylskåpet står mjölken, smöret och osten. – The milk, the butter and the cheese are in the fridge.

What exactly does bredvid varandra mean, and how does varandra work?

bredvid varandra literally means “beside each other” / “next to each other.”

bredvid = beside / next to
varandra = each other / one another

Varandra is a reciprocal pronoun used when two or more people or things act in relation to one another:

De gillar varandra. – They like each other.
Bilarna står bredvid varandra. – The cars are parked next to each other.

In your sentence, the group mjölk, smör och ost is plural, so varandra is appropriate: they are positioned relative to one another.

Spoken/colloquial Swedish often uses varann instead of varandra:

…står bredvid varann. (more informal)

Could I say just bredvid without varandra, or use a different phrase?

You usually need something after bredvid to say what it is “next to”:

Mjölken står bredvid smöret. – The milk is next to the butter.

In your sentence, because there are several items, bredvid varandra sums it up nicely: next to each other.

You could also say, for example:

…står vid sidan av varandra. – stand by the side of each other.
…står tätt intill varandra. – stand close to each other.

But simply …står bredvid with nothing after it sounds incomplete in standard Swedish.

Why is there no comma before och in mjölk, smör och ost?

Swedish normally does not use the Oxford comma (the last comma before and in a list) in simple lists.

So:

mjölk, smör och ost
not
mjölk, smör, och ost

A comma before och in a list is only used in special cases (to avoid ambiguity, or when grouping items in a complex list). In ordinary three-item lists like this one, you simply write X, Y och Z.

Is kylskåp the only word for “fridge,” or can I say something else like kyl?

You’ll hear both:

kylskåp – the full, neutral word:
- I kylskåpet… – In the fridge…
kyl – shorter and more colloquial, especially in speech:
- I kylen står mjölk, smör och ost. – In the fridge the milk, butter and cheese are (standing).

Grammatically:

ett kylskåp → kylskåpet
en kyl → kylen

Meaning-wise here they are effectively the same; kyl just sounds a bit more informal and is very common in everyday language.