Learn Hardcore Swedish: Ibland vill jag vara själv i vardagsrummet. - Sometimes I want to be alone in the living room.

In Swedish main clauses, the finite verb (here vill) normally comes in second position (the “V2” rule). One slot must come before the verb: either the subject or some other element (an adverb, object, etc.).

Here, the adverb Ibland (“sometimes”) is put first for emphasis or style, so the word order becomes:

Ibland (adverb) – vill (finite verb) – jag (subject) – vara själv i vardagsrummet (rest of the clause)

You can also say:

Jag vill ibland vara själv i vardagsrummet.
Jag vill vara själv i vardagsrummet ibland.

All are grammatically correct. The differences are mostly about rhythm and which part you want to highlight:

Ibland vill jag… puts extra focus on “sometimes”.
Jag vill ibland… is a bit more neutral.
…i vardagsrummet ibland makes “in the living room” feel a bit more central and “sometimes” more like an afterthought.

What is the role of vill here, and why is it followed by vara without att?

Vill is a modal verb meaning “want to” in this context.

In Swedish, after several modal verbs, you do not use att before the infinitive. Some of these verbs are:

vill (want to)
kan (can, be able to)
måste (must, have to)
ska (shall, will)
får (may, be allowed to)

So you say:

Jag vill vara själv. – I want to be alone.
(Not: Jag vill att vara själv. – incorrect here)

The structure is:
[subject] + vill + [infinitive verb]

In the sentence:

Jag – subject
vill – modal verb
vara – infinitive “to be”

What exactly does själv mean here? Is it “myself” or “alone”? How is it different from ensam?

In this sentence, vara själv means roughly “to be by myself / to be alone.”

själv is a bit flexible in Swedish:

It can mean “(by) oneself / by myself / alone” in a context like this:
- Jag vill vara själv. – I want to be by myself / alone.
It can also be used like English “myself / yourself / himself” for emphasis:
- Jag gör det själv. – I’ll do it myself.
- Hon gjorde det helt själv. – She did it completely by herself.

ensam also means “alone, lonely”, but often with a slightly stronger nuance of being without company and sometimes with an emotional tone:

Jag vill vara ensam. – I want to be alone. (often sounds a bit more isolating)
Jag vill vara själv. – often heard as more neutral, like “I just want some time to myself.”

They overlap a lot and are often interchangeable, but:

vara själv can emphasize ‘by myself / not with others right now’,
vara ensam can more easily suggest ‘without company, possibly lonely’, depending on context and tone.

Why is it själv and not självA here?

Själv changes form depending on number (singular/plural) and sometimes on person.

With singular pronouns (jag, du, han, hon, den, det), you usually use själv:
- jag själv – I myself
- du själv – you yourself
- han själv – he himself
- hon själv – she herself
With plural pronouns (vi, ni, de), you use själva:
- vi själva – we ourselves
- ni själva – you (pl) yourselves
- de själva – they themselves

In Jag vill vara själv, jag is singular, so själv is correct.

Also, in the expression vara själv meaning “to be by oneself”, it stays själv in the singular:

Jag vill vara själv.
Du vill vara själv.
Han vill vara själv.

For plural, you would say:

Vi vill vara själva. – We want to be by ourselves.

Can I say Jag vill mig själv vara i vardagsrummet like “I want myself to be in the living room”?

No. That word-for-word imitation of English does not work in Swedish.

In Swedish, you do not insert mig själv (myself) in that way. You simply say:

Jag vill vara själv i vardagsrummet. – I want to be by myself in the living room.
or
Jag vill vara i vardagsrummet själv. – I want to be in the living room by myself.

mig själv is only used in specific emphasis or reflexive contexts, e.g.:

Jag ser mig själv i spegeln. – I see myself in the mirror.
Jag gjorde det helt själv. – I did it completely by myself.

But not as a “dummy object” like in English “I want myself to…”.

Why is it i vardagsrummet and not på vardagsrummet? How do I know which preposition to use?

In Swedish, i and på are both often translated as “in” or “at/on”, but their usage is quite fixed with certain kinds of places.

For rooms inside a building, i is typically used:

i vardagsrummet – in the living room
i köket – in the kitchen
i sovrummet – in the bedroom
i badrummet – in the bathroom

på is used more for surfaces, open areas, or certain fixed expressions:

på bordet – on the table
på jobbet – at work
på skolan – at school (colloquial)
på bio – at the cinema

Since vardagsrum is a room, being inside it takes i:
i vardagsrummet = in the living room.

Why is it vardagsrummet (definite form) and not just vardagsrum?

Swedish marks definiteness directly on the noun by adding an ending.

ett vardagsrum – a living room (indefinite, “any” living room)
vardagsrummet – the living room (definite, a specific one)

In everyday speech, when you talk about rooms in your own home (the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom), Swedes almost always use the definite form, because both speaker and listener know which one is meant:

Jag är i vardagsrummet. – I’m in the living room.
Hon sitter i köket. – She’s sitting in the kitchen.

So i vardagsrummet means in the living room (the one in my/our house), not just any living room.

How is vardagsrummet built up as a word? It looks long.

Vardagsrummet is a compound noun with a definite ending:

vardag – “weekday, everyday life”
- linking s → vardags
- rum – “room”
  → vardagsrum – “living room” (literally “everyday room”)
- -met (definite ending for neuter nouns)
  → vardagsrum
  - -met = vardagsrummet – “the living room”

So the structure is:
vardag + s + rum + -met

Could the word order be Jag vill vara själv ibland i vardagsrummet or Jag vill vara i vardagsrummet själv ibland?

Yes, those versions are grammatically correct, but they slightly change the focus and feel a bit more “loaded” with adverbs:

Jag vill vara själv ibland i vardagsrummet.
Sounds like: “I sometimes want to be by myself in the living room” – the “sometimes” sits closer to the whole verb phrase; grammatically okay but less smooth than the original.
Jag vill vara i vardagsrummet själv ibland.
Also possible. The själv is now directly after the place phrase, slightly highlighting being there by yourself as one of several ways you might be in the living room.

The original:

Ibland vill jag vara själv i vardagsrummet.

is more natural and streamlined, especially for a neutral statement.

How do you pronounce vardagsrummet and själv?

Very roughly, using English-like hints:

vardagsrummet:
- var – like “var” in “varnish” but with a long a (a bit like “vah”)
- dags – “dax” (the g is soft / almost like “gs”)
- rum – like English “room” but shorter u (more like “room” with a tighter vowel, closer to “rum” in British “rumour” without the “our”)
- met – like “met” in English
Stressed mainly on the first syllable: VAR-dags-rum-met.
själv:
- sj is a Swedish sound with no exact English equivalent, often described as a “sh” from deep in the mouth or throat.
- The vowel is similar to the “e” in “bed” but a bit more fronted.
- Final v is like English v.
Roughly: “shelv” but with a deeper, more guttural sh sound.

For accurate pronunciation, audio examples from a Swedish dictionary or a pronunciation site are very helpful.