Efter mötet känner chefen sig lugn.

After the meeting the boss feels calm.

Breakdown of Efter mötet känner chefen sig lugn.

• efter: after
• känna: to feel
• lugn: calm
• mötet: the meeting
• chefen: the boss
• sig: oneself

Questions & Answers about Efter mötet känner chefen sig lugn.

Why do we need the word sig here? Why not just Efter mötet känner chefen lugn?

In Swedish, many verbs that talk about feelings or states use a reflexive pronoun (like sig) when they describe how someone feels.

• känna sig = “to feel (a certain way)”
• känna (without sig) = “to feel” in the sense of touching something, or “to sense”, or “to know” someone.

So:

• chefen känner sig lugn = the boss feels calm (describing her/his internal state)
• chefen känner lugn is not idiomatic Swedish; it sounds wrong to a native speaker.

Think of känna sig + adjective as a fixed pattern you need to learn:

• känna sig trött – feel tired
• känna sig glad – feel happy
• känna sig lugn – feel calm

What is the difference between känner sig lugn and just är lugn?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:

• är lugn = “is calm”

  • neutral description of a state, like a fact.

• känner sig lugn = “feels calm”

  • focuses on how the person experiences their own state.

In many contexts either could work:

• Efter mötet är chefen lugn. – After the meeting, the boss is calm.
• Efter mötet känner chefen sig lugn. – After the meeting, the boss feels calm.

The second one emphasizes the boss’s subjective feeling a bit more, which fits well after something potentially stressful like a meeting.

Why is it mötet and chefen, with a -t and -en? How do these definite endings work?

Swedish usually marks “the” by attaching an ending to the noun instead of using a separate word:

• ett möte = a meeting
  mötet = the meeting
  (for most ett-words you add -et)

• en chef = a boss / manager
  chefen = the boss / manager
  (for most en-words you add -en)

So in the sentence:

• Efter mötet – After the meeting
• känner chefen sig lugn – the boss feels calm

We’re talking about a specific meeting and a specific boss, so the definite form is used.

Why is the adjective lugn not inflected? Why not lugnt or lugna?

Adjectives in Swedish change depending on:

1. Whether they describe an en-word, an ett-word, or something plural.
2. Whether they come before a noun or after a verb like är, känner sig, etc.

Here:

• The adjective lugn describes chefen (an en-word, singular).
• It comes after the verb phrase känner sig.

In this pattern:

• chefen är lugn – the boss is calm
• chefen känner sig lugn – the boss feels calm

The form for an en-word, singular, in this predicative position is just lugn, no extra ending.

Other patterns for comparison:

• en lugn chef – a calm boss
• ett lugnt möte – a calm meeting
• lugna chefer – calm bosses

Why is the word order Efter mötet känner chefen sig lugn and not Efter mötet chefen känner sig lugn like in English?

Swedish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the verb usually comes in second position in the sentence, no matter what comes first.

1. Efter mötet – this whole phrase is taken as position 1.
2. The finite verb (känner) must come in position 2.
3. Then we add the subject and the rest.

So:

• Efter mötet (1) känner (2) chefen sig lugn (rest)

If you start with the subject instead, it looks like this:

• Chefen (1) känner (2) sig lugn efter mötet (rest)

But Efter mötet chefen känner sig lugn breaks the V2 rule and sounds wrong to a native speaker.

Can I also say Chefen känner sig lugn efter mötet? Is that the same?

Yes, that’s fully correct Swedish and very natural:

• Chefen känner sig lugn efter mötet.

The meaning is the same. The difference is focus and style:

• Starting with Chefen is neutral and very common.
• Starting with Efter mötet adds a little emphasis to the time: “After the meeting, the boss feels calm.”

Both versions are good to use.

Why is the reflexive pronoun sig placed after chefen and before lugn?

The normal order in a simple sentence like this is:

Subject – Verb – Reflexive pronoun – (Other parts like adjectives, objects, etc.)

So we get:

• chefen (subject)
• känner (verb)
• sig (reflexive pronoun)
• lugn (adjective describing the subject)

That gives us chefen känner sig lugn.

You normally don’t put sig at the end, and you don’t put it before the main verb in this kind of clause.

What exactly does efter mean here? Is it always used for “after” in a time sense?

Yes, efter is the normal preposition for “after” in both time and space.

In time expressions:

• efter mötet – after the meeting
• efter jobbet – after work
• efter middagen – after dinner

It doesn’t change the form of the noun; you just put efter + [noun in normal form]. Here the noun is in definite form (mötet), but that’s because we mean the meeting, not because of efter itself.

In space:

• efter huset – behind/after the house (in a sequence or line)

But in this sentence, it’s clearly about time: “after the meeting”.

What’s the difference between känner sig and mår? Could I say Efter mötet mår chefen bra?

Yes, you can, but the nuance is a little different.

• känna sig + adjective = feel [adjective], very flexible:

  • känna sig lugn, trött, stressad, gammal, lycklig, etc.

• må bra / må dåligt = feel well / feel bad, often about general well-being or health:

  • Efter mötet mår chefen bra. – After the meeting, the boss is doing well / feels good.
  • Jag mår inte så bra idag. – I don’t feel so well today.

You could say:

• Efter mötet mår chefen bra. – After the meeting, the boss feels good (overall).
• Efter mötet känner chefen sig lugn. – After the meeting, the boss feels calm (more specific emotion/state).

Both are correct; they just highlight slightly different things.