Learn Hardcore Swedish: Äntligen bestämmer vi oss för att inte jobba mer ikväll utan gå ut och få frisk luft. - Finally we decide not to work anymore tonight but to go out and get some fresh air.

bestämma on its own = to determine, to set, to decide something in a more general sense
- e.g. Läraren bestämmer reglerna. – The teacher decides/sets the rules.
bestämma sig (för något) = to make a decision (for oneself), to decide to do something
- e.g. Vi bestämmer oss för att gå. – We decide to go.

In your sentence, bestämmer vi oss means “we decide” (we make up our minds), which is why the reflexive pronoun oss is needed.

What is the function of för att after bestämmer vi oss?

För att here introduces the purpose / intended action of the decision, and is followed by an infinitive verb:

bestämma sig för att göra något = to decide to do something

So:

bestämmer vi oss för att inte jobba mer ikväll …
= we decide not to work any more tonight …

In English you usually just use “to” (“decide to do something”), but in Swedish you use för att + infinitive with this verb pattern.

Why is the negation inte placed before jobba (inte jobba) and not after the verb?

In Swedish, when you negate an infinitive (the “to do” form), inte normally goes before the verb:

att inte jobba – not to work
att inte komma – not to come
att inte säga något – not to say anything

So för att inte jobba mer ikväll = to not work any more tonight.

If you said för att jobba inte mer ikväll, it would sound ungrammatical or at least very unnatural to Swedish speakers.

What exactly does utan mean here, and how is it different from men?

In this sentence, utan is used in the pattern:

inte X utan Y = not X but (rather) Y / instead of X, Y

So:

… att inte jobba mer ikväll utan gå ut och få frisk luft.
= … to not work any more tonight, but (instead) go out and get some fresh air.

Difference from men:

men = but (simple contrast, no built‑in idea of “instead”)
utan = but rather / but instead, and it requires a preceding negation (like inte, ingen, inget, etc.)

Compare:

Jag vill inte stanna hemma utan gå ut.
– I don’t want to stay at home but rather go out.
Jag vill stanna hemma, men jag måste gå ut.
– I want to stay at home, but I have to go out.

So here utan expresses the idea “instead of working more, we will go out …”

Why is there no att before gå ut after utan?

You could, in theory, say:

… för att inte jobba mer ikväll utan att gå ut …

but that would more naturally be read as “without going out”, because utan att + infinitive is also a set expression meaning “without doing X”.

In your sentence, the structure is:

för att inte jobba mer ikväll utan (att) gå ut och (att) få frisk luft

Swedish often omits the repeated “att” in parallel infinitive structures when it’s clear from context. The att from för att is “understood” to apply also to gå ut and få frisk luft.

So the natural reading here is:

för att [inte jobba mer ikväll] utan [gå ut och få frisk luft]

= to not work any more tonight but (instead) go out and get some fresh air.

Key points:

utan att + verb usually = without doing X (different meaning).
utan + infinitive (without att) here relies on the earlier för att, giving “but rather (to) go out …”

Why are both gå and få in the infinitive after gå ut och?

The sequence:

gå ut och få frisk luft

is a common Swedish pattern: infinitive + och + infinitive to show two actions that are closely linked, often in sequence:

gå ut och äta – go out and eat
åka och handla – go (drive/ride) and do the shopping
stanna hemma och plugga – stay home and study

Since this whole phrase is governed by för att (decide to do something), the verbs stay in the infinitive:

för att … gå ut och få frisk luft
= to go out and get some fresh air

Why is ikväll one word and not i kväll?

Both ikväll and i kväll exist, but:

Modern, everyday Swedish strongly prefers the one‑word form: ikväll.
The meaning is the same: this evening / tonight.

So:

… inte jobba mer ikväll …
= … not work any more tonight …

You will still see i kväll in older texts or more formal writing, but ikväll is standard and very common.

Could you also say … att vi inte jobbar mer ikväll … instead of att inte jobba mer ikväll?

Yes, but it would change the structure and nuance.

Current version (infinitive clause):

bestämmer vi oss för att inte jobba mer ikväll …
= we decide *not to work any more tonight …
(*att
- infinitive: att inte jobba)

Alternative with a finite verb:

bestämmer vi oss för att vi inte jobbar mer ikväll …
= literally we decide that we don’t work any more tonight …

This is grammatically possible, but it:

sounds more clumsy and heavier, and
uses a subordinate clause (att vi inte jobbar) instead of a neat infinitive phrase.

With verbs of planning/decision, Swedish strongly prefers att + infinitive:

bestämma sig för att göra X
planera att resa
tänka att köpa (more common: tänker köpa, without att)

Why does frisk luft have no article, not en frisk luft?

Luft (air) is a mass noun in Swedish, just like in English:

you say air, not an air in English
similarly, luft, not en luft in Swedish (in this sense)

So:

få frisk luft = to get some fresh air

No article is used because we’re talking about air in general, not a countable, individual item.

Why does the sentence start with Äntligen, and how does that affect word order?

Swedish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb comes in second position in the sentence.

If we start with the subject:

Vi äntligen bestämmer oss … ❌ (wrong: verb not in second place)
Vi bestämmer oss äntligen … ✅ (subject–verb–adverb)

If we start with an adverbial like Äntligen:

Äntligen bestämmer vi oss …

Now the order is:

Äntligen – first element (adverbial)
bestämmer – finite verb (must be in second position)
vi – subject
the rest of the sentence

So Äntligen is placed first to emphasize “finally/at last”, and then bestämmer must come immediately after because of the V2 rule.

Is there any difference between mer ikväll and ikväll mer? Could I say inte jobba ikväll mer?

In this context, the natural order is:

inte jobba mer ikväll

Here’s why:

mer (“more”) is closely tied to the verb jobba – work more.
ikväll (“tonight”) is a time adverbial, which usually comes after the verb phrase in this type of sentence.

So:

inte jobba mer ikväll
= not work more tonight (no more work this evening)

If you said:

inte jobba ikväll mer

it would sound strange and unnatural. It also risks sounding like you’re saying “not work tonight any more” in a very awkward way. Native speakers don’t normally place mer after ikväll here.

General intuition:

verb (+ object) + mer
- time word (ikväll, imorgon, etc.) is the typical order in such phrases.

Why do we need vi? Could Swedish omit the subject pronoun like in some other languages?

Swedish does not normally drop subject pronouns in the present tense, unlike Spanish or Italian.

You must say:

Vi bestämmer oss … – We decide …

Omitting vi:

Bestämmer oss för att inte jobba … ❌

would be ungrammatical (except in very special elliptical contexts like headlines or instructions, not in normal sentences).

So vi is required as the explicit subject of the verb bestämmer.