Learn Hardcore Swedish: Jag tror att herren där borta kommer att köpa en svart kostym på rea. - I think the gentleman over there is going to buy a black suit on sale.

Jag tror att herren där borta kommer att köpa en svart kostym på rea.

I think the gentleman over there is going to buy a black suit on sale.

Breakdown of Jag tror att herren där borta kommer att köpa en svart kostym på rea.

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Questions & Answers about Jag tror att herren där borta kommer att köpa en svart kostym på rea.

Why do we need att after tror? Is it like English “that”, and can we leave it out?

Yes, att here works much like English “that” introducing a subordinate clause:

Jag tror att herren … kommer att köpa …
= I think *that the gentleman … is going to buy …*

In English you can usually drop that:

I think (that) the man is going to buy a suit.

In Swedish, att is much more often kept. Omitting att is possible in some spoken, informal Swedish, but it’s safer (and more standard) for learners to include it after verbs like tror, vet, säger, hoppas, etc.

So:

Jag tror att han kommer. ✅ (standard)
Jag tror han kommer. ✅ (informal, common in speech)

What’s the difference between tror, tycker, and tänker? Could I use them interchangeably?

They are not interchangeable; they cover different kinds of “thinking”:

tror – “believe / think (believe something is true)”
- Jag tror att herren där borta kommer att köpa en svart kostym.
  I think / I believe the gentleman over there will buy a black suit.
- Used for beliefs about facts or predictions.
tycker – “think / be of the opinion (subjective opinion, evaluation)”
- Jag tycker att den svarta kostymen är snygg.
  I think the black suit is nice.
- Used for opinions, tastes, judgments.
tänker – “think / intend / plan / be thinking”
- Jag tänker köpa en kostym.
  I intend to buy a suit.
- Or: Vad tänker du på? – What are you thinking about?

In your sentence, you’re expressing a belief/prediction, so tror is the right verb.

Why is it herren and not just man or mannen? What nuance does herren have?

herre literally means “gentleman” or “sir”.

herren = the gentleman / the man (polite / somewhat formal)
mannen = the man (neutral)

Nuance:

herren can feel polite, formal, sometimes a bit old‑fashioned or jokingly fancy, depending on context and tone.
In everyday neutral speech, people are more likely to say:
- Jag tror att mannen där borta kommer att köpa en svart kostym på rea.

Using herren is natural in shop talk or announcements when referring politely to a male customer, or in somewhat formal or humorous language.

Why is it där borta and not just där? What’s the difference?

Both refer to location, but they have slightly different feels:

där = there (more general)
där borta = over there (emphasises that it’s a bit further away, more pointed)

Examples:

Mannen där köper en kostym.
The man there is buying a suit. (just indicating position)
Mannen där borta köper en kostym.
The man over there is buying a suit. (he’s some distance away, you’re pointing him out)

In your sentence, där borta nicely mirrors English “over there”.

Why do we say en svart kostym and not en svarta kostym?

This is about indefinite vs definite and adjective agreement:

en svart kostym = a black suit (indefinite)
- article en
- adjective svart (indefinite form)
- noun kostym (indefinite)
den svarta kostymen = the black suit (definite)
- demonstrative/article den
- adjective svarta (definite form)
- noun kostymen (definite)

So:

Indefinite: en svart kostym ✅
Definite: den svarta kostymen ✅

Your sentence talks about “a” suit in general (not a specific one known to speaker and listener), so the indefinite form en svart kostym is correct.

Why is it kostym with en, not ett kostym? Does it have to do with gender?

Yes. Swedish nouns have two grammatical genders:

en-words (common gender)
ett-words (neuter)

You just have to learn the gender with each noun:

en kostym – a suit (common gender)
kostymen – the suit

There is no logical rule that would make kostym obviously en or ett; it’s just lexical gender. When you learn a noun, learn its article too:

en kostym, en bil, en stol
ett bord, ett hus, ett rum

Why is the future expressed as kommer att köpa and not with a special future tense?

Swedish does not have a dedicated future tense like English “will”. Instead, it mainly uses:

ska + infinitive
- Han ska köpa en kostym.
  He will / is going to buy a suit.
  Often implies intention or a plan.
kommer att + infinitive
- Han kommer att köpa en kostym.
  He will / is going to buy a suit.
  Often used for predictions about the future.
Present tense with future meaning (from context)
- Han köper en kostym imorgon.
  He’s buying a suit tomorrow.

In your sentence, tror … kommer att köpa matches English “I think he is going to buy” — a prediction, so kommer att is very natural.

Can we leave out att in kommer att köpa? I’ve seen kommer köpa sometimes.

Yes, in informal spoken Swedish, people often drop att in this construction:

Han kommer att köpa en kostym. ✅ (standard)
Han kommer köpa en kostym. ✅ (very common in speech and informal writing)

For learners, it’s good to use the full form kommer att + infinitive until you’re comfortable, but you should recognize both forms as correct.

What does på rea literally mean, and why do we use på here?

rea = sale (as in discount sale in a shop)
på = on / at (a very common preposition with set phrases)

på rea literally: on sale.

In Swedish, some fixed combinations with på are:

på rea – on sale
på semester – on vacation
på restaurang – (at) a restaurant
på bio – at the cinema

So köpa … på rea = buy … on sale / buy … at a discount.

What is the word order rule inside att‑clause: att herren där borta kommer att köpa …? Does Swedish still use V2 there?

Swedish uses V2 (verb-second) word order in main clauses, but in subordinate clauses (like those introduced by att) the word order is different:

Main clause (V2):
- Idag köper han en kostym.
  (Adverb Idag first, then verb köper in second position.)
Subordinate att‑clause:
- … att han köper en kostym idag.
  (Subject han comes before the verb köper.)

In your sentence:

att herren där borta kommer att köpa en svart kostym på rea
- herren där borta = subject
- kommer = first verb (auxiliary)
- att köpa = infinitive phrase

So correct order is:

Subordinator: att
Subject: herren där borta
Verb: kommer
Rest: att köpa en svart kostym på rea

You do not move kommer to the second position after “att” like in a main clause.

Is herren here ever understood as a religious “Lord”? How do we avoid that confusion?

The religious “the Lord” in Swedish is also Herren, but:

In religious contexts, it’s usually capitalized in writing: Herren.
In everyday talk about a random man in a shop, context makes it clear it just means “the gentleman / the man”.

If you want to avoid any possible old‑fashioned or religious feel, just use mannen instead:

Jag tror att mannen där borta kommer att köpa en svart kostym på rea.

That’s completely neutral and can’t be read as religious.

How do you pronounce herren, kostym, and rea?

Approximate pronunciations (Swedish → rough English):

herren: [ˈhɛrːɛn]
- här like “hair” but shorter, with a rolled or tapped r
- double r means the r sound is prolonged
- final -en like “en” in “taken” (short)
kostym: [kɔˈstyːm]
- ko- like “co” in “coffee”, but shorter
- -stym with y like German ü or French u in “lune”
  (a front, rounded vowel; not like English “ee”)
- y is long: -tyːm
rea: [ˈreːa]
- two syllables: re‑a (not “reya”)
- e is long: reː
  - short a

So rea sounds a bit like “RAY‑ah”, but with a pure vowel instead of the English diphthong.