Learn Hardcore Swedish: När molnen försvinner upptäcker vi hur vacker utsikten verkligen är. - When the clouds disappear we discover how beautiful the view really is.

Here, the sentence begins with the adverbial clause När molnen försvinner (“When the clouds disappear”). That whole clause counts as position 1, so the finite verb of the main clause must come next:

Position 1: När molnen försvinner
Position 2: upptäcker (verb)
Position 3: vi (subject)

So you get När molnen försvinner upptäcker vi …, not … vi upptäcker ….

If you start with the subject instead, the order is “normal” again:

Vi upptäcker hur vacker utsikten verkligen är när molnen försvinner.

2. Why is it molnen and not just moln?

moln = “clouds” (indefinite plural)
molnen = “the clouds” (definite plural)

In Swedish, the definite ending is attached to the noun instead of using “the” in front:

ett moln – a cloud
flera moln – several clouds
molnen – the clouds

The sentence talks about the clouds that are already in the sky and then disappear, so the definite form molnen is natural: “När molnen försvinner …” = “When the clouds disappear …”

3. Why is it utsikten and not utsikt?

Same idea as with molnen:

en utsikt – a view
utsikten – the view

The sentence refers to a specific view that both speaker and listener know about (for example, the view from a balcony or a mountain). Swedish marks this with the definite form:

hur vacker utsikten verkligen är
literally: “how beautiful the view really is”

If you said hur vacker utsikt är, it would be ungrammatical here; you need the definite form because the structure is based on “utsikten är vacker” → “the view is beautiful.”

4. Why is the adjective before the noun in English (“beautiful view”) but not in Swedish here (hur vacker utsikten är)?

Swedish has two different patterns:

Attributive adjective (directly before a noun):
- en vacker utsikt – a beautiful view
- den vackra utsikten – the beautiful view
Predicative adjective (linked with är / “is”):
- Utsikten är vacker. – The view is beautiful.

In our sentence, the predicative pattern is used inside a clause:

Base sentence: Utsikten är vacker.
Embedded: hur vacker utsikten verkligen är
(“how beautiful the view really is”)

So you don’t say hur vacker utsikt är, because the structure is not “a beautiful view” but “the view is beautiful.”

5. Why does the verb är come at the end in hur vacker utsikten verkligen är?

This is a subordinate clause introduced by hur (“how”). In Swedish subordinate clauses, the verb often comes after the subject and other elements, so the order is different from a main clause:

Main clause: Utsikten är verkligen vacker.
(Subject – Verb – Adverb – Adjective)
Subordinate clause: … hur vacker utsikten verkligen är.
(“how beautiful the view really is”)

Order inside that clause:

hur (subordinating word)
vacker (adjective)
utsikten (subject)
verkligen (adverb)
är (verb at the end)

So the verb är is pushed to the end by the rules for subordinate clause word order in Swedish.

6. What is the function of hur here? Is it like a question word?

Yes, hur is the same word as in questions (“how”), but here it introduces a content clause, not a direct question.

Direct question: Hur vacker är utsikten? – How beautiful is the view?
Content clause: … upptäcker vi hur vacker utsikten verkligen är.
– “… we discover how beautiful the view really is.”

So hur works like English how in expressions such as:

“I realized how tired I was.”
“We discovered how beautiful the view really is.”

7. Why isn’t there att (“that”) before hur vacker utsikten verkligen är?

You could say:

Vi upptäcker att utsikten verkligen är vacker.
– “We discover that the view really is beautiful.”

But in our sentence, hur itself introduces the clause, so you don’t use att:

upptäcker vi hur vacker utsikten verkligen är
– “we discover how beautiful the view really is”

In Swedish, you don’t combine att with hur in this kind of clause:

✅ Vi upptäcker att utsikten är vacker.
✅ Vi upptäcker hur vacker utsikten är.
❌ Vi upptäcker att hur vacker utsikten är.

8. What exactly does verkligen mean here, and where can it go?

verkligen roughly means “really / truly / actually”. It strengthens the statement:

hur vacker utsikten verkligen är
≈ “how really beautiful the view is”
or more natural English: “how beautiful the view really is.”

Placement: in this kind of clause, verkligen normally comes before the verb and after the subject (and often after short adjectives):

Utsikten är verkligen vacker.
Hur vacker utsikten verkligen är.

You could move it a bit in speech for emphasis, but verkligen almost always stays close to the verb:

Vi upptäcker verkligen hur vacker utsikten är.
Vi upptäcker hur vacker utsikten verkligen är.
Both are correct, but with slightly different emphasis.

9. Why is it present tense försvinner and upptäcker, not a future form like “will discover”?

Swedish often uses present tense where English uses future (will) to talk about the future:

Jag åker till Sverige imorgon.
= “I’m going to Sweden tomorrow / I will go to Sweden tomorrow.”

In this sentence:

När molnen försvinner upptäcker vi …
literally: “When the clouds disappear, we discover …”

Depending on context, this can describe:

A general truth / repeated situation
– “Whenever the clouds disappear, we (always) realize how beautiful the view really is.”
A future situation, if understood from context
– “When the clouds disappear, we’ll realize how beautiful the view really is.”

Swedish doesn’t need a special “will” form here; present tense is enough.

10. Could we say försvinner bort, and would it change the meaning?

försvinna = to disappear / vanish
försvinna bort literally adds “away”, but it’s often unnecessary and can sound a bit more informal or emphatic.

In this context, När molnen försvinner is perfectly natural and standard.
När molnen försvinner bort would still be understandable, but it’s less common and can sound a bit more colloquial or stylistically marked.

So: stick with försvinner here.

11. Could you use another verb instead of upptäcker, like märker or inser?

Yes, but there are nuance differences:

upptäcker – discover, find out, realize (often something new you haven’t properly noticed before)
märker – notice, perceive (your senses or attention catch it)
inser – realize (more of an intellectual or emotional understanding)

In your sentence:

När molnen försvinner upptäcker vi hur vacker utsikten verkligen är.
→ We discover/realize (maybe for the first time or afresh) how beautiful the view is.

You could say:

… märker vi hur vacker utsikten verkligen är.
→ We notice how beautiful the view is (slightly more neutral).
… inser vi hur vacker utsikten verkligen är.
→ We realize how beautiful the view is (more about an inner realization).

All three can work grammatically; upptäcker emphasizes the idea of “(re)discovering” something.

12. Is a comma missing after När molnen försvinner?

In modern Swedish, a comma is optional when a subordinate clause comes first:

När molnen försvinner upptäcker vi … ← very common
När molnen försvinner, upptäcker vi … ← also correct

Many current style guides prefer no comma in short, clear sentences like this.

So the version without a comma, as you have it, is completely standard.