Breakdown of Jag vill köpa en bok i affären.
Questions & Answers about Jag vill köpa en bok i affären.
In Swedish, verbs like vill (want), kan (can), måste (must), ska (shall/going to) are modal verbs.
With these modal verbs, you use the infinitive without att:
- Jag vill köpa en bok. = I want to buy a book.
- Jag kan läsa svenska. = I can read Swedish.
- Jag måste gå nu. = I must go now.
Using att here (Jag vill att köpa) is incorrect Swedish. You only use att before infinitives in other cases, for example:
- Jag tycker om att läsa. = I like to read.
Köpa is the infinitive (the dictionary form: to buy).
Köper is the present tense (buy / am buying).
After vill (want), you must use the infinitive:
- Jag vill köpa en bok. = I want to buy a book.
If you say Jag köper en bok, it changes the meaning to:
- Jag köper en bok. = I am buying / I buy a book. (It is happening, not just a wish.)
No, Jag köpa vill en bok is wrong word order.
Swedish main clauses follow the V2 rule:
The finite verb (here: vill) must be in second position in the sentence.
In Jag vill köpa en bok i affären.:
- Jag = first element (subject)
- vill = second element (finite verb)
- köpa en bok i affären = rest of the clause
So this word order is correct:
- Jag vill köpa en bok i affären.
You can move other parts around, but the finite verb still stays second. For example:
- I affären vill jag köpa en bok. (In the store, I want to buy a book.)
Here I affären is first, vill is still second, jag comes third.
Swedish has two grammatical genders for nouns:
- Common gender (en-words)
- Neuter gender (ett-words)
Bok (book) is a common-gender noun, so its indefinite article is en:
- en bok = a book
Some other examples:
- en stol (a chair)
- ett bord (a table)
Unfortunately, the gender is something you mostly have to memorize with each noun. Dictionaries usually mark this: bok (en).
En bok is indefinite: a book, some book, not a specific one.
Boken is definite: the book, a specific one you and the listener know about.
In Jag vill köpa en bok i affären., you are just saying you want to buy a book, not a particular book that both people already know.
If you mean a specific one, you would say:
- Jag vill köpa boken i affären. = I want to buy the book in the store.
Prepositions in Swedish are partly logical, partly just usage you have to learn.
For places like shops, buildings, rooms, Swedish usually uses i (in):
- i affären = in the store
- i skolan = in/at school
- i huset = in the house
På is used with many other types of places (islands, open areas, events, certain institutions):
- på jobbet (at work)
- på stranden (on the beach)
- på bio (at the cinema)
For affär (store), the standard is i affären.
In Swedish, the definite article (the) is usually added as a suffix to the noun:
- en affär = a store
- affären = the store
So affären means the store.
In context, Jag vill köpa en bok i affären. often means:
- I want to buy a book in the store (that store we both have in mind: the local shop, the bookstore we know, etc.).
You could say i en affär (in a store), but that feels more vague or general, like “in some store or other”, not a specific one.
Affär has a few related meanings:
- store, shop
- en affär = a shop / a store
- business, business deal
- en affär can also mean a business transaction or affair (like a deal).
- In some contexts, affär can mean love affair (romantic relationship).
In Jag vill köpa en bok i affären., it clearly means the store / the shop.
You can say i en butik or i butiken, but not just i butik here.
- en butik = a shop / a store (often a bit more formal or “shop-like”)
- butiken = the shop
So alternatives are:
- Jag vill köpa en bok i en butik. = I want to buy a book in a shop.
- Jag vill köpa en bok i butiken. = I want to buy a book in the shop.
Saying only i butik without an article sounds wrong in this kind of sentence.
- affären: stress is on the second syllable: aFFÄR‑en.
- köpa: stress is on the first syllable: KÖ‑pa.
So you say: aFFÄR‑en, KÖ‑pa.
Jag is often pronounced like ja (similar to yah) in everyday speech, especially in Sweden:
- Careful / formal: jag with a weak g at the end
- Colloquial: ja
köpa has a sound kj / kö that does not exist in English.
- kö is pronounced a bit like “sh” in “she”, but with the tongue farther forward, and lips rounded.
- Rough approximation for English speakers: “shö‑pa”, where ö is like the vowel in British “bird” or French “peur”.
No, Jag vill köpa i affären en bok sounds wrong or at least very unnatural.
The most neutral order is subject – verb – verb complement – place:
- Jag vill köpa en bok i affären.
You can move i affären to the front for emphasis:
- I affären vill jag köpa en bok.
But you normally keep the direct object (en bok) together with its verb (köpa) and do not split them by putting i affären in between.
Yes, but the meaning changes:
Jag vill köpa en bok i affären.
- I want to buy a book in the store. (expresses desire)
Jag ska köpa en bok i affären.
- I am going to buy a book in the store. (a plan or intention for the future)
So vill is about wanting, while ska is about planned future action. Both take the infinitive without att: vill köpa, ska köpa.