I dag jobbar jag hemifrån.

Today I am working from home.

Breakdown of I dag jobbar jag hemifrån.

• jag: I
• jobba: to work
• hemifrån: from home
• i dag: today

Questions & Answers about I dag jobbar jag hemifrån.

Why is it written I dag and not Idag? Are both correct?

Both i dag and idag are used in modern Swedish.

• i dag (two words) is the more traditional/standard spelling and is what you’ll often see in textbooks and more formal writing.
• idag (one word) is also very common, especially in everyday writing, online, and in messages.

They mean exactly the same thing: today.
As a learner, you can safely use either, but it’s good to recognize both when reading.

Why does the verb jobbar come before jag? Could I say Jag jobbar hemifrån i dag instead?

Both sentences are correct, but they follow slightly different word orders.

• I dag jobbar jag hemifrån.
• Jag jobbar hemifrån i dag.

Swedish main clauses normally follow a V2 rule: the verb is always in second position in the sentence.

1. In Jag jobbar hemifrån i dag:

   • 1st position: Jag
   • 2nd position: jobbar (the verb)
     → standard subject–verb order.

2. In I dag jobbar jag hemifrån:

   • 1st position: I dag (a time expression)
   • 2nd position: jobbar (the verb)
   • Subject jag comes after the verb.

So when you put something else (like time, place, etc.) first, the verb still has to be second, and the subject moves after the verb.

Both word orders are very natural. Jag jobbar hemifrån i dag is probably the most neutral; I dag jobbar jag hemifrån can sound a bit more focused on today.

Why do you just say jobbar and not something like är jobbar for “am working”?

Swedish doesn’t use vara (to be) to form a present continuous tense like English does.

• English: I am working
• Swedish: Jag jobbar (one verb)

The Swedish present tense jobbar can mean:

• I work (habitual)
• I am working (right now)

Context usually makes the meaning clear.
You do not say jag är jobbar – that is incorrect in Swedish.

What is the difference between jobbar and arbetar?

Both mean to work and are very similar.

• jobba → jobbar

  • Slightly more informal, common in everyday conversation.
  • Very frequent in spoken Swedish.

• arbeta → arbetar

  • Slightly more formal or neutral.
  • Common in written language, official contexts, or more careful speech.

In this sentence, you can say either:

• I dag jobbar jag hemifrån.
• I dag arbetar jag hemifrån.

Both are correct and natural.

What does hemifrån mean exactly, and how is it different from hem and hemma?

These three are closely related but not interchangeable:

• hemifrån

  • Literally: from home
  • Focus on the starting point or origin.
  • In jobba hemifrån, it means work from home.

• hemma

  • Means at home (location, being at home).
  • Example: Jag är hemma. – I am at home.

• hem

  • Usually (to) home (direction, going home).
  • Example: Jag går hem. – I’m going home.

So:

• Jag jobbar hemifrån. = I work from home.
• Jag jobbar hemma. = I work at home (often used too, but can sound a bit more like “I’m doing work while I’m at home”).
• Jag går hem. = I’m going home.

Can I say Jag jobbar från hemmet instead of Jag jobbar hemifrån?

You can say Jag jobbar från hemmet, and it is grammatically correct, but it is less natural in this context.

The normal idiomatic way to say work from home is:

• Jag jobbar hemifrån.

från hemmet is more literal (“from the home/the house”) and might be used for physical movement or technical contexts, but for everyday “I’m working from home (not at the office)”, hemifrån is the standard choice.

Where can the time expression I dag go in the sentence? Are there rules for its position?

Yes, there are patterns, but you have some flexibility. All of these are correct:

1. I dag jobbar jag hemifrån.
2. Jag jobbar hemifrån i dag.
3. Jag jobbar i dag hemifrån. (possible, but less common and can sound slightly marked)

General tips:

• Time expressions often go first or near the verb in everyday speech:

  • I dag jobbar jag hemifrån.
  • Jag jobbar hemifrån i dag.

• Remember the V2 rule: if I dag is first, the verb must still be second:

  • ✅ I dag jobbar jag hemifrån.
  • ❌ I dag jag jobbar hemifrån. (incorrect)

How would this sentence look in the past or future?

Using the same structure, you change the verb tense or add a future marker:

Past (yesterday):

• I går jobbade jag hemifrån. – Yesterday I worked from home.

Future (tomorrow):

• I morgon ska jag jobba hemifrån. – Tomorrow I will work from home.
• Or: I morgon kommer jag att jobba hemifrån. – a bit more formal.

Patterns to notice:

• Present: jobbar
• Past: jobbade
• Future: ska jobba, kommer att jobba

Why is I capitalized in I dag? Is it the same as English I?

No, it’s not the same as English I (the pronoun).

• In I dag, I is just the preposition i (“in”) that is capitalized only because it’s the first word of the sentence.
• The Swedish word for English I is jag, which is not capitalized in the middle of a sentence:
  • I dag jobbar jag hemifrån.

So:

• English: I = pronoun, always capitalized.
• Swedish: jag = pronoun, normally lowercase; i = preposition, capitalized only at the start of a sentence.

How do you pronounce the letters j and g in this sentence (I dag jobbar jag hemifrån)?

Approximate pronunciations (Swedish has sounds English doesn’t exactly have, but roughly):

• I – like English ee in see.
• dag – daag (long a, and g is a hard g like in go).
• jobbar – yobbar (Swedish j is like English y in yes; o here like English o in boss but shorter).
• jag – typically ya (the g is often very weak or almost silent in many accents).
• hemifrån – hemi-fro:n
  
  • hemi like hemm-ee,
  • från with a long vowel, roughly like frawn.

Key points:

• j = English y sound.
• g in dag is a clear g sound; in jag it’s often softened or barely heard, depending on accent.