Jag gör det själv.

I do it myself.

Breakdown of Jag gör det själv.

• jag: I
• det: it
• göra: to do
• själv: themselves

Questions & Answers about Jag gör det själv.

Why is it Jag gör det själv and not Jag gör det mig själv for I do it myself?

In Swedish, själv on its own is normally used after the subject to mean myself / yourself / himself, etc. when you are emphasizing who does the action:

• Jag gör det själv. – I’ll do it myself.
• Hon gör det själv. – She does it herself.

The form mig själv is mainly used when the verb is reflexive in meaning, i.e. when the subject acts on themself:

• Jag skadade mig själv. – I hurt myself.
• Jag skäms över mig själv. – I’m ashamed of myself.

So:

• For I’ll do it myself → Jag gör det själv.
• For I hurt myself → Jag skadade mig själv.

What tense is gör, and can it really mean I’ll do it as well as I do it?

Gör is the present tense of the verb göra (to do, to make).

In Swedish, the present tense is often used for:

1. Present time:

   • Jag gör det själv. – I do it myself / I’m doing it myself.

2. Near future, especially when it’s clear from context:

   • Det är lugnt, jag gör det själv. – It’s okay, I’ll do it myself.

So Jag gör det själv can be translated as either:

• I do it myself
• I’m doing it myself
• I’ll do it myself

depending on context. The Swedish form itself stays the same.

What exactly does själv add to the sentence? Could I just say Jag gör det?

Yes, you can say Jag gör det, but it does not carry the same nuance.

• Jag gör det. – I’ll do it. (neutral)
• Jag gör det själv. – I’ll do it myself. / I’ll do it on my own. (emphasis on me, not somebody else)

Själv here emphasizes that:

• You don’t need help
• You, and not someone else, will do it

In speech, själv is often stressed:
Jag gör det SJÄLV.

Why is det used and not den for it?

Swedish has two grammatical genders for nouns:

• en-words (common gender) – then the pronoun is den
• ett-words (neuter) – then the pronoun is det

However, in a sentence like Jag gör det själv, det can be:

1. Referring back to a specific ett-word noun:

   • Kan du fixa brevet? – Can you fix the letter? (ett brev)
   • Ja, jag gör det själv.

2. Referring to a whole situation, action or idea, not a concrete noun. In that case, Swedish normally uses det by default:

   • Don’t worry about that, I’ll do it myself. → Oroa dig inte för det, jag gör det själv.

So det here is the most natural choice.

Could you change the word order, like Själv gör jag det? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, you can change the order for emphasis:

• Jag gör det själv. – neutral emphasis on the whole phrase, with focus typically on själv.
• Själv gör jag det. – sounds more marked/stylistic, often used to strongly emphasize I, myself (in contrast to others).

Meaning-wise, both are:

• I do it myself / I myself do it.

But Själv gör jag det feels more like:

• As for myself, I do it (myself).
• I, personally, do it (myself).

In everyday speech, Jag gör det själv is much more common.

How do you pronounce gör and själv? They look tricky.

Approximate pronunciations (for standard Swedish):

• gör: roughly like “yur” in English, with a rounded front vowel.

  • IPA: /jøːr/
  • The g is soft, like y in yes.

• själv:

  • IPA: /ɧɛlv/
  • sj is the famous Swedish sj‑sound: produced far back in the mouth, somewhat like a soft, breathy “sh”, but deeper/throatier. There is no perfect English equivalent.
  • ä is like “e” in bed.
  • The v at the end is like English v.

So roughly: “yur deh shelv” (but with that special Swedish sj sound).

Is gör always from göra? What does göra actually mean?

Yes, gör is the present tense of the verb göra.

Basic forms of göra:

• att göra – to do, to make
• gör – do/does, is doing
• gjorde – did
• gjort – done

Göra can mean to do in general, but also to make or to perform:

• Vad gör du? – What are you doing?
• Jag gör kaffe. – I’m making coffee.
• Han gjorde jobbet själv. – He did the job himself.

Is Jag gör det själv rude or impolite? How does it sound to a Swede?

It depends on tone and context:

1. Neutral / practical:

   • Ingen fara, jag gör det själv.
   • No problem, I’ll do it myself.
     Polite and helpful.

2. Annoyed / rejecting help:

   • Said with a sharp or irritated tone:
   • Nej, det är lugnt, jag gör det själv.
   • No, it’s fine, I’ll do it myself. (implying: since you won’t / since you’re doing it wrong).

The words themselves are neutral; any rudeness comes from intonation and context, not the grammar.

Can själv be used with other persons, like du, han, vi?

Yes, själv is invariable; it doesn’t change form with person or number:

• Du gör det själv. – You do it yourself.
• Han gör det själv. – He does it himself.
• Vi gör det själva. – We do it ourselves.
• De gör det själva. – They do it themselves.

Note: with vi and de, you can add plural -a (själva), which is very common:

• Vi gör det själva.
• De gör det själva.

Is there a stronger way to say “all by myself” in Swedish?

Yes, a common stronger expression is alldeles själv:

• Jag gjorde det alldeles själv. – I did it all by myself.

Other options:

• helt själv – completely by myself
• utan hjälp – without help

All of these emphasize that you had no help at all.

Where does the negation inte go in a sentence like this?

The normal position for inte is after the finite verb (gör here):

• Jag gör inte det själv. – I don’t do it myself. / I won’t do it myself.

If you especially want to negate själv (the “myself” part), Swedish prefers to change the wording:

• Jag gör det inte själv. – I don’t do it myself (someone else helps).
• Or more clearly: Jag gör det inte ensam. – I don’t do it alone.

Word order can slightly shift the focus of the negation, but gör inte is the core pattern.

Can you drop Jag and just say Gör det själv?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

• Jag gör det själv. – I’ll do it myself. (talking about what I will do)
• Gör det själv! – Do it yourself! (a command or instruction to someone else)

Swedish almost always keeps the subject pronoun in normal statements, so you generally do not drop Jag in a declarative sentence. Without Jag, it’s interpreted as an imperative.