Breakdown of Vill du prova en annan tröja?
Questions & Answers about Vill du prova en annan tröja?
In Swedish, after vill (want), you use the bare infinitive of the verb directly, without att:
- Jag vill prova. – I want to try.
- Vill du prova? – Do you want to try?
Using att here would be ungrammatical:
✗ Vill du att prova … – incorrect.
You do use att with vill if what follows is a whole clause with a subject and verb:
- Jag vill att du provar en annan tröja. – I want you to try another sweater.
Both can be translated as “Would you like to try…?”, but they differ slightly in tone:
Vill du prova en annan tröja?
- Literally: Do you want to try another sweater?
- Neutral, very common in everyday speech. Not rude, just straightforward.
Skulle du vilja prova en annan tröja?
- Literally: Would you like to want to try another sweater?
- Feels a bit softer/more polite, similar to English “Would you like to…?” in a more careful or formal tone.
In a shop, “Vill du prova en annan tröja?” is perfectly normal and polite.
Swedish yes/no questions usually start with the verb, then the subject, then the rest:
- Verb – Subject – …
- Vill du prova en annan tröja? – Do you want to try another sweater?
For statements, it’s:
- Subject – Verb – …
- Du vill prova en annan tröja. – You want to try another sweater.
So the change Du vill … → Vill du …? is the normal way to turn a statement into a yes/no question.
In Swedish, “annan” (other/another) still requires an indefinite article in the singular:
- en annan tröja – another sweater
- en annan bok – another book
- ett annat problem – another problem
So you need both:
- en/ett (the indefinite article, matching the noun’s gender)
- annan/annat (agreeing with that gender)
Without the article it sounds incomplete:
✗ Vill du prova annan tröja? – incorrect.
You can’t mix “annan” with the definite form of the noun.
Compare:
- en tröja – a sweater (indefinite)
- tröjan – the sweater (definite)
Annan means “another / a different one”, which is by nature indefinite, so the noun must also be indefinite:
- ✅ en annan tröja – another sweater
- ✗ en annan tröjan – ungrammatical
You only combine “den andra” (the other) with a definite noun:
- den andra tröjan – the other sweater.
Both can translate as “another sweater”, but the nuance is different:
en annan tröja
- Focus: a different sweater (instead of this one).
- Implies changing to a different option.
en till tröja
- Literally: one more sweater.
- Focus: an additional sweater (in addition to the one you already have).
In a clothing shop, when something doesn’t fit or suit you, the clerk would say:
- Vill du prova en annan tröja? – Do you want to try a different sweater?
If you already have one sweater and you want one more:
- Jag vill ha en till tröja. – I want another/one more sweater.
Tröja is a bit broader than any single English word. It typically means:
- a sweater/jumper (knitted, long-sleeved)
- can also cover long-sleeved tops or sometimes jerseys (e.g. sports shirts)
Compare with some related words:
- en tröja – a sweater / jersey / long-sleeved top
- en T‑shirt – a T-shirt
- en skjorta – a shirt (with collar and often buttons)
- en kofta – a cardigan
- en huvtröja – a hoodie
In many shop contexts, tröja will be understood as sweater/jumper unless the context says otherwise.
Swedish has two grammatical genders for nouns:
- en-words (common gender) – use en
- ett-words (neuter) – use ett
Tröja happens to be an en-word, so:
- en tröja – a sweater
- tröjan – the sweater
You generally have to learn the gender of each noun with the word itself, just like you learn gender in languages like German or Spanish. There is no reliable rule that makes tröja obviously “en” or “ett”; it’s just en tröja.
In Swedish, directness is normal, and this sentence is:
- Natural and polite in a shop context
- Very common in everyday speech
It corresponds roughly to “Do you want to try another sweater?” in English, which can sound a bit direct in English, but in Swedish it’s not rude.
If someone wanted to be extra soft or formal, they might say:
- Skulle du vilja prova en annan tröja? – Would you like to try another sweater?
But your original sentence is absolutely fine and widely used.
Both prova and testa can mean “to try”, but there are slight preferences:
prova
- Very common for trying on clothes/shoes.
- prova en tröja – try on a sweater
- Also used for trying something out in general.
testa
- Slightly more colloquial; also used a lot, often for testing/trying out things:
- testa en ny mobil – try out a new phone
- testa ett spel – test a game
In a clothing store, “Vill du prova en annan tröja?” sounds more natural than “testa”.
Swedish has only one present tense, which covers both:
- simple present (I want)
- present continuous (I am wanting / I am trying, etc. (where appropriate in English))
So:
- Vill du prova en annan tröja?
Literally: Do you want to try another sweater?
But it also covers the English idea of “Would you like to try another sweater right now?”
There is no separate form like “are wanting” in Swedish; vill (present tense) is used for all present/near-future “want” meanings.
- du = you (one person, informal)
- ni = you (plural) and sometimes formal singular, though the formal use is much less common nowadays.
So:
- Vill du prova en annan tröja? – to one person (standard, informal/polite).
- Vill ni prova en annan tröja? – to several people (e.g. a couple), or occasionally a formal address to one person (more old‑fashioned or context‑dependent).
In modern Swedish, shop staff usually say “du” to individual customers.