Learn Hardcore Swedish: Ring mig om du kommer sent ikväll. - Call me if you are coming late tonight.

When you give a command or request in Swedish, you use the imperative, which for regular verbs is usually just the verb stem without the final -a:

ringa → ring! (call!)
prata → prata! (talk!) – some verbs keep the -a
köpa → köp! (buy!)

So Ring mig = Call me (imperative).

Why is there no subject like du before ring?

In Swedish, as in English, the imperative doesn’t normally use an explicit subject.

English: (You) Call me if you’re late tonight.
Swedish: (Du) Ring mig om du kommer sent ikväll.

The subject du is understood. You can sometimes add du for emphasis (e.g. Ring du mig om du kommer sent ikväll), but the normal, neutral command just uses the imperative verb on its own: Ring mig ….

Why is it mig and not jag after ring?

Jag and mig are different cases of the first-person singular pronoun:

jag = subject form (I)
mig = object form (me)

You use:

jag when it’s the subject:
- Jag ringer dig. = I call you.
mig when it’s the object (the one affected by the verb):
- Ring mig. = Call me.

Since ring takes an object (who you are calling), mig is correct.

What does om mean here, and could I use när instead?

Here om means if, introducing a condition:

Ring mig om du kommer sent ikväll.
= Call me if you come/are going to be late tonight.

när usually means when (at the time that). The nuance:

om suggests it might or might not happen.
när suggests it will happen; it’s just about when.

So:

Ring mig om du kommer sent ikväll.
→ Maybe you will be late, maybe not. If you are, call me.
Ring mig när du kommer hem.
→ You will definitely come home; call me at that time.

Using när with kommer sent ikväll sounds odd, because being late is not a guaranteed event in this context. om is the natural choice.

Why is kommer (present tense) used when the meaning is about tonight (the future)?

Swedish very often uses the present tense for future events, especially when there’s a time expression in the sentence that makes the future meaning clear.

Jag kommer sent ikväll. = I’ll be late tonight.
Vi ses imorgon. = We’ll see each other tomorrow.
Tåget går klockan åtta. = The train leaves at eight.

Because ikväll (tonight) and the conditional sense make the time clear, present tense (kommer) is used instead of something like will come. There is no separate future tense like English will; Swedish typically uses:

present tense + time word
or ska/kommer att + infinitive for some future meanings.

But here om du kommer sent ikväll is the most natural form.

Could I say om du blir sen ikväll instead of om du kommer sent ikväll?

Yes, you can. There is a slight nuance difference:

om du kommer sent ikväll
– literally: if you come late tonight
– focuses on the arrival time being late.
om du blir sen ikväll
– literally: if you become late tonight
– more like English if you end up running late tonight / if you are delayed tonight.

Both are completely natural. blir sen often emphasizes the process of being delayed, while kommer sent just states that the time of coming will be late.

Why is it sent ikväll and not ikväll sent?

The most natural order is adverb of manner/time → more specific time, so:

sent ikväll = late this evening / late tonight

Putting sent (late) directly before ikväll (tonight) forms a unit that answers When? (Late tonight.)

You can move ikväll around in the sentence for emphasis, but sent ikväll as a chunk is very standard:

Jag kommer sent ikväll.
Ring mig ikväll om du kommer sent. (different focus)

Ikväll sent is not idiomatic; Swedes don’t usually split it that way.

What is the difference between sent and sen?

Both relate to “late”, but they are used differently:

sent (with t)
- adverb form of sen (late), used in more standard/neutral Swedish
- Jag kom sent. = I arrived late.
sen (no t)
1. Adjective: late
  - Jag är sen. = I am late.
2. Colloquial adverb: often used instead of sent in speech
  - Spoken: Jag kom sen. (colloquial)
3. Also means then / later in some contexts
  - Vi ses sen. = See you later.

In writing, sent is the standard adverb in a sentence like this: om du kommer sent ikväll. In casual writing or text messages, you might see sen used instead.

Why is ikväll written as one word and not i kväll?

Both forms exist:

ikväll
i kväll

Modern Swedish tends to prefer the one-word form for many common time expressions:

idag / i dag (today)
imorgon / i morgon (tomorrow)
ikväll / i kväll (tonight)

All these pairs are accepted, and you’ll see both in real texts. ikväll is very common in everyday writing; i kväll may feel a bit more traditional or formal, but it’s not wrong at all.

So you could also write:

Ring mig om du kommer sent i kväll. (equally correct)

Is ring mig the only natural way to say call me, or are there alternatives?

Ring mig is the most straightforward and common way to say Call me (on the phone).

Other possibilities and nuances:

Ring upp mig.
– “Call me (back)” / “Phone me.”
– upp adds a sense of initiating the call, often used when returning a call.
Ring till mig.
– also possible, but ring mig is more direct and idiomatic.
– till is often dropped when the object is a person.
More informal/indirect options:
- Hör av dig om du kommer sent ikväll.
  = “Get in touch if you’re late tonight.” (could be phone, text, etc.)

For a simple instruction, Ring mig is perfect.

Could I put ikväll earlier and say Ring mig ikväll om du kommer sent? Does it change the meaning?

You can say:

Ring mig ikväll om du kommer sent.

The basic idea is the same, but the focus shifts slightly:

Ring mig om du kommer sent ikväll.
→ The condition is “if you’re late tonight”. The “tonight” is tightly connected to being late.
Ring mig ikväll om du kommer sent.
→ A bit more like: “Call me tonight if you’re late (in whatever context)”.
The “tonight” now sounds more closely linked to the calling, not to the being late.

In most practical situations, people will understand them similarly, and both are grammatically fine. The original version is a bit more natural if the “lateness” is what is specifically tied to “tonight” (e.g., coming home late this evening).

Should there be a comma after Ring mig in Swedish, like Ring mig, om du kommer sent ikväll?

Modern Swedish style usually does not use a comma between the main clause and a short om-clause (if-clause) when the om-clause comes second:

Ring mig om du kommer sent ikväll. ✅ (standard)
Ring mig, om du kommer sent ikväll. ⚠️ usually avoided

You are more likely to see a comma if the om-clause comes first:

Om du kommer sent ikväll, ring mig. ✅

So the sentence as given, without a comma, is the usual and recommended spelling.