Jag är fortfarande osäker på mitt val.

Breakdown of Jag är fortfarande osäker på mitt val.

jag
I
vara
to be
mitt
my
fortfarande
still
about
valet
the choice
osäker
uncertain
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Questions & Answers about Jag är fortfarande osäker på mitt val.

What exactly does fortfarande mean here, and can it go in a different place in the sentence?

Fortfarande means “still” (in the sense of “not yet changed / not yet stopped being that way”).

In neutral word order, time and degree adverbs like fortfarande usually come right after the finite verb:

  • Jag är fortfarande osäker på mitt val.
    = I am still unsure about my choice.

You can sometimes move it for emphasis, but it’s less common and more marked:

  • Jag är osäker fortfarande.
    This sounds like you’re stressing how long you’ve been unsure, and it’s stylistically a bit unusual in everyday speech.

You cannot put it before the verb in a plain statement:

  • Jag fortfarande är osäker på mitt val. (ungrammatical)
Why is it osäker på and not osäker om or osäker över?

In Swedish, osäker normally combines with when you’re unsure about a concrete thing, e.g. a choice, a fact, a plan:

  • osäker på mitt val – unsure about my choice
  • osäker på svaret – unsure about the answer
  • osäker på vad jag ska göra – unsure what I should do

Other prepositions are possible but have slightly different uses:

  • osäker om – rare and usually avoided; Swedes would typically say osäker på om …
    • Jag är osäker på om det stämmer. – I’m unsure whether that’s correct.
  • osäker över – can occur, but sounds more literary or emotional, and often implies worry:
    • Hon är osäker över framtiden. – She is uneasy/uncertain about the future.

For “unsure about [noun/choice]”, osäker på is the standard pattern.

Does osäker always mean “unsure”, or can it also mean “unsafe” / “insecure” like in English?

Osäker primarily means:

  1. Uncertain / unsure (about something)

    • Jag är osäker på mitt val. – I’m unsure about my choice.
  2. Unstable / risky / not reliable

    • En osäker situation – a precarious / uncertain situation
    • Osäker inkomst – insecure / unstable income

For a person feeling psychologically insecure, Swedish more often uses:

  • osäker (som person) – shy, lacking confidence
  • otrygg – not feeling safe, emotionally or physically

So osäker can cover both “unsure” and some uses of “insecure/unstable”, but in your sentence it clearly means “unsure”.

Why is it mitt val and not min val?

Because val is a neuter noun (ett‑ord), and neuter nouns take the possessive mitt (my):

  • ett val – a choice
  • mitt val – my choice

Compare:

  • en bil (common gender) → min bil – my car
  • ett hus (neuter) → mitt hus – my house
  • ett val (neuter) → mitt val – my choice

Plural uses mina regardless of gender:

  • mina val – my choices
What’s the difference between val and beslut? Could I say “Jag är fortfarande osäker på mitt beslut”?

Yes, you can say:

  • Jag är fortfarande osäker på mitt beslut. – I’m still unsure about my decision.

Nuance:

  • val = choice, focus on picking between options

    • Often used before or during the choice.
    • Ex: choosing a program, partner, product.
  • beslut = decision, focus on the act of deciding / the final decision

    • Often used at or after the moment of deciding.
    • Ex: an official decision, a formal resolution.

In everyday speech they overlap a lot, and both are natural here:

  • osäker på mitt val – I don’t feel sure I picked the right option.
  • osäker på mitt beslut – I don’t feel sure about the decision I (have) made.

The difference is subtle; context usually matters more than the noun choice.

Is the val here the same word as val meaning “whale”?

They are spelled the same, but they are different words with different genders:

  1. val (neuter, ett val) – choice

    • ett val, valet, val, valen
  2. val (common gender, en val) – whale

    • en val, valen, valar, valarna

In your sentence, mitt val uses mitt, so it must be ett val = a choice, not a whale. The context also makes that obvious.

Could I say “Jag fortfarande är osäker på mitt val”?

No, not in standard Swedish.

Swedish main clauses follow the verb‑second (V2) rule: the finite verb (here är) must be the second element in the sentence.

  • Jag är fortfarande osäker på mitt val.
    (1st = Jag, 2nd = är, then adverb etc.)

Putting fortfarande between Jag and är breaks the V2 rule:

  • Jag fortfarande är osäker på mitt val.

To change the order for emphasis, you would move some other element to the front, but the verb still stays second:

  • Fortfarande är jag osäker på mitt val.Still, I’m unsure about my choice. (very emphatic / stylistic)
How would I turn this into a question like “Are you still unsure about your choice?” in Swedish?

You invert the subject and verb, and change person and possessive:

  • Är du fortfarande osäker på ditt val?
    • Är – are
    • du – you
    • fortfarande – still
    • osäker – unsure
    • på ditt val – about your choice

Note the possessive change:

  • mitt val – my choice
  • ditt val – your choice (singular “you”)
Can I leave out är like in some languages: “Jag fortfarande osäker på mitt val”?

No. In Swedish you must include the verb “to be” (är) in sentences like this.

Correct:

  • Jag är fortfarande osäker på mitt val.

Incorrect:

  • Jag fortfarande osäker på mitt val.
    (Sounds like broken Swedish; the linking verb is required.)

Swedish does not normally drop är the way some other languages can drop “to be” in the present tense.

How do you pronounce osäker and fortfarande?

Approximate standard Swedish pronunciation (IPA):

  • osäker – /ˈuːsɛːkɛr/

    • Stress on the first syllable: O‑sä‑ker
    • o like English “oo” in food but a bit tenser
    • ä like the vowel in British English “air” (shortened)
  • fortfarande – /ˈfɔʈfɑːrəndə/ (or /ˈfɔrtfɑːrəndə/; /ʈ/ is a retroflex t)

    • Stress on the first syllable: FORT‑farande
    • o here is more like English “or” but shorter
    • Final ‑e in ‑nde is a short, neutral vowel (schwa‑like), often very light in casual speech.

You’ll also hear:

  • Jag often as /jɑː/ in everyday spoken Swedish (the final g may be very weak or silent).