Learn Hardcore Swedish: Mode förändras snabbt, men hennes personliga stil kommer alltid att vara snygg. - Fashion changes quickly, but her personal style will always be stylish.

mode = fashion (as in the fashion industry, clothing style in general)
trender (singular: trend) = trends (specific directions or waves in fashion or other areas)

So Mode förändras snabbt = Fashion changes quickly, not for moods or modes in the grammatical sense. For mood as in “I’m in a good mood”, Swedish would use humör instead.

Why is it förändras with -s and not förändrar?

The verb förändras is the intransitive / reflexive-passive form of förändra:

förändra (något) = to change something
- Jag förändrar min stil. = I change my style.
förändras = to change (by itself), to be changed, to undergo change
- Mode förändras snabbt. = Fashion changes quickly.

The ending -s often marks a passive or “happening by itself” meaning. Here, it indicates that fashion itself is undergoing change (not that someone is actively changing it in the sentence).

Could you also say Mode ändras snabbt? What’s the difference between ändras and förändras?

Yes, Mode ändras snabbt is also correct and natural.

Nuance:

ändras (from ändra) = to change, to be altered. Often a bit more neutral and very common.
förändras (from förändra) = also to change, but can feel a little more like undergo a change / be transformed. Often slightly more formal or “bigger” in feel.

In this sentence, both work, and many native speakers would use them almost interchangeably:

Mode ändras snabbt – Fashion changes quickly.
Mode förändras snabbt – Fashion changes quickly / keeps transforming.

The difference is subtle and mostly about style and feel, not grammar.

Why is the word order Mode förändras snabbt instead of something like Mode snabbt förändras?

Swedish has a fairly fixed word order in main clauses:

Subject – Verb – (mid-position adverbs) – Other elements

Here:

Mode = subject
förändras = verb
snabbt = adverb describing how it changes

So Mode förändras snabbt follows the normal pattern.

Mode snabbt förändras would sound unnatural or poetic at best. The adverb snabbt usually comes after the verb in a simple sentence like this.

Why is there a comma before men?

In Swedish, you usually put a comma between two main clauses when they are joined by men (but), och (and), etc.

Mode förändras snabbt = main clause
hennes personliga stil kommer alltid att vara snygg = another main clause

So:

Mode förändras snabbt, men hennes personliga stil kommer alltid att vara snygg.

The comma helps show that there are two complete clauses. In modern Swedish, the comma is often optional in some cases, but before men joining two full clauses, it is very standard.

Why is it hennes personliga stil and not hennes personlig stil?

The adjective personlig changes form to agree with the noun and the presence of a possessive pronoun.

Rules relevant here:

Stil is an en-word (common gender).
When an adjective comes before a noun with a possessive pronoun (like min, din, hans, hennes, vår, er, deras), the adjective usually takes the -a form.

So:

en personlig stil = a personal style
hennes personliga stil = her personal style

Other examples:

min nya bil (my new car) – ny → nya
deras stora hus (their big house) – stor → stora

So hennes personlig stil is incorrect; it must be hennes personliga stil.

What does kommer alltid att vara mean, and how does this express the future?

Kommer att + infinitive is a common way to talk about the future in Swedish.

Structure:

kommer att vara = will be
kommer alltid att vara = will always be

So:

hennes personliga stil kommer alltid att vara snygg
= her personal style will always be stylish.

Kommer att is often used for:

Predictions: Det kommer att regna. = It will rain.
Things that are seen as likely outcomes: Han kommer att gilla det. = He will like it.

Can you say kommer alltid vara without att, or is that wrong?

You can say kommer alltid vara without att, and many native speakers do in informal spoken Swedish:

hennes personliga stil kommer alltid vara snygg

However:

With att: more neutral / standard, especially in writing.
Without att: very common in speech; acceptable in informal writing.

For a textbook or careful written style, kommer alltid att vara is safer and more “correct”.

Why is alltid placed between kommer and att and not somewhere else?

Alltid is a sentence adverbial, and in Swedish it normally appears after the finite verb (the conjugated verb) in main clauses.

Here:

kommer = the finite verb
att vara = infinitive verb phrase
alltid comes right after kommer:

hennes personliga stil kommer alltid att vara snygg

Other examples:

Jag kommer snart att åka. – I will leave soon.
Hon ska alltid klaga. – She will always complain.

Putting alltid after att would sound wrong:

✗ …kommer att alltid vara snygg – feels incorrect/awkward.
The standard position is where it is in the original sentence.

Why is it snygg and not snyggt here?

In Swedish, adjectives used after är / vara (predicative position) agree with the gender and number of the noun they refer to:

stil is an en-word (en stil).
For singular en-words, the basic form of the adjective is used (no -t).

So:

Stilen är snygg. = The style is stylish.
Hennes personliga stil kommer alltid att vara snygg.

You use snyggt with ett-words:

Huset är snyggt. = The house is nice/stylish.

So snyggt would be wrong here because it wouldn’t agree with stil.

What’s the difference between snygg, fin, vacker, and stilig?

All can translate as “nice” / “beautiful” / “good-looking”, but with different typical uses:

snygg
- Very common, casual.
- For clothes, styles, objects, and people:
  - en snygg klänning – a nice/stylish dress
  - Han är snygg. – He is good-looking.
fin
- Nice, fine, pretty, often with a softer or more polite tone.
- en fin klänning – a lovely dress
- Vilken fin present! – What a nice present!
vacker
- Beautiful, more “elevated” or poetic.
- Often for nature, art, and also people:
  - en vacker utsikt – a beautiful view
  - Hon är vacker. – She is beautiful.
stilig
- Stylish, dapper, often about people (especially men) and formal style.
- en stilig man – a stylish / handsome man

In this sentence, snygg fits very well with stil and mode, since it’s common and fashion-related.

Could you also say hennes personliga stil är alltid snygg? How does that differ from kommer alltid att vara snygg?

Yes, you could say:

hennes personliga stil är alltid snygg
= her personal style is always stylish.

Difference in feel:

är alltid snygg
- States a general, timeless fact or a current truth.
- Neutral present tense.
kommer alltid att vara snygg
- Emphasizes the future and continuity into the future.
- Suggests: even though fashion keeps changing, her style will remain stylish forever / in the long run.

So the original sentence creates a clearer contrast between:

temporary, changing mode (fashion)
stable, lasting stil (personal style) that will always stay stylish.