Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hon vill vinna tävlingen, men hennes kompis vill bara ha roligt. - She wants to win the competition, but her friend just wants to have fun.

Other verbs that normally skip att before an infinitive are kan (can), ska (shall / will), måste (must), får (may / is allowed to), bör (ought to).

What does the -en ending in tävlingen mean?

The ending -en marks the definite singular form of a common-gender noun.

The noun tävling (competition) is:

en tävling = a competition (indefinite singular)
tävlingen = the competition (definite singular)
tävlingar = competitions (indefinite plural)
tävlingarna = the competitions (definite plural)

So vinna tävlingen means win the competition (a specific one that both speakers know about).

Why is it hennes kompis and not sin kompis?

Swedish distinguishes between:

hennes = her (someone else / not the subject of the clause)
sin / sitt / sina = her/his/their own (referring back to the subject of the same clause)

In the clause hennes kompis vill bara ha roligt, the subject is hennes kompis (her friend).

The owner of the friend is the woman in the previous clause (Hon). She is not the subject of the second clause, so you must use hennes, not sin.

Hennes kompis vill bara ha roligt.
= Her (some female person’s) friend just wants to have fun.

If you wrote Sin kompis vill bara ha roligt, that would mean:

One’s own friend just wants to have fun – but there is no clear subject to refer back to, so it is ungrammatical in this sentence.

Why is it hennes kompis and not hennes kompisen?

With a possessive like min, din, hans, hennes, vår, er, deras, Swedish does not add the definite ending -en / -et / -na to the noun.

So you say:

hennes kompis = her friend
not
✗ hennes kompisen

Compare:

kompisen = the friend (no possessive)
min kompis = my friend
✗ min kompisen = incorrect

Swedish does not allow “double definiteness” (possessive + definite ending) in this case.

What is the nuance of kompis compared to vän?

Both can translate as friend, but they differ in tone:

kompis – everyday, informal; like buddy / mate / pal / friend
- min kompis = my friend / my buddy
vän – a bit more formal or serious; often used in writing, speeches, or for “real” close friendship
- en god vän = a good (close) friend

In normal spoken Swedish, kompis is very common when talking about friends.

Why is the word order vill bara ha roligt and not something else?

In main clauses, Swedish generally has:

Subject
Finite verb
Sentence adverbials (like inte, bara, kanske)
Other verbs / objects

So:

Hennes kompis vill bara ha roligt.
Subject = hennes kompis
Finite verb = vill
Sentence adverbial = bara
Infinitive verb = ha
Complement = roligt

Vill bara here means only wants to.

Can bara go in other positions, and does the meaning change?

Yes, bara can move, and that can change what is being limited:

Hennes kompis vill bara ha roligt.
= Her friend only wants to have fun (not win, not train hard, etc.).
Bara hennes kompis vill ha roligt.
= Only her friend wants to have fun (no one else).
Hennes kompis bara vill ha roligt.
Grammatically OK, but gives a bit more emphasis to bara vill – often used for complaint:
“Her friend just wants to have fun (and nothing else).”

You cannot say:

✗ Hennes kompis vill ha bara roligt. – wrong placement.

Why is it roligt and not rolig?

Rolig is an adjective meaning fun, funny. It has different forms:

rolig – common gender singular (en-words)
roligt – neuter singular (ett-words) and also used adverbially
roliga – plural / definite

In ha roligt, roligt functions like an adverb or fixed form in an idiom meaning to have fun:

ha roligt = have fun
Det var roligt. = That was fun.

You do not change roligt here according to gender; the expression is fixed.

What is the difference between ha roligt and vara roligt?

They are used in different ways:

ha roligt – what a person experiences
- Vi hade roligt. = We had fun.
vara roligt – what a thing/situation is like
- Filmen var rolig. = The movie was fun / funny.
- Det är roligt att lära sig svenska. = It is fun to learn Swedish.

In the sentence, hennes kompis vill bara ha roligt is about what the friend wants to experience.

Can I say ha kul instead of ha roligt?

Yes, ha kul is very common and more colloquial:

ha roligt – neutral, standard
ha kul – informal, very frequent in speech
ha skoj – also informal, a bit playful

So you could say:

Hennes kompis vill bara ha kul.
with almost the same meaning.

Does vill ever mean will, like the English future tense?

No. Vill means want(s) to, not future will.

Compare:

Hon vill vinna tävlingen.
= She wants to win the competition.

To talk about the future in Swedish you usually use:

ska for plans/intentions:
- Hon ska vinna tävlingen. = She is going to win the competition / She will win the competition.
Or just the present tense with a time expression:
- Hon vinner tävlingen i morgon. = She wins the competition tomorrow.

So do not confuse vill with English will.

Why is there a comma before men?

Swedish often uses a comma between two independent main clauses that are joined by conjunctions like men (but), och (and), för (for/because).

Here we have two full clauses:

Hon vill vinna tävlingen
hennes kompis vill bara ha roligt

They are joined by men, so writing:

Hon vill vinna tävlingen, men hennes kompis vill bara ha roligt.

is standard and clear. In very informal writing you might sometimes see the comma dropped, but the comma is the norm.

How would you turn this into a yes–no question in Swedish?

For a yes–no question, Swedish brings the finite verb to first position:

Statement: Hon vill vinna tävlingen.
Question: Vill hon vinna tävlingen? = Does she want to win the competition?

For the whole sentence, you would usually just question one clause:

Vill hon vinna tävlingen, eller vill hon bara ha roligt?
= Does she want to win the competition, or does she just want to have fun?

How are hon, henne, and hennes different?

These are three forms of the third-person singular feminine pronoun:

hon – subject form (she)
- Hon vill vinna tävlingen. = She wants to win the competition.
henne – object form (her)
- Jag såg henne. = I saw her.
- Jag gav henne en bok. = I gave her a book.
hennes – possessive form (her / hers)
- Hennes kompis vill bara ha roligt. = Her friend just wants to have fun.
- Boken är hennes. = The book is hers.

In the original sentence, hon is the subject of the first clause, and hennes shows possession in the second clause.