Learn Hardcore Swedish: Vi sitter i ett rum och läser svenska. - We are sitting in a room and reading Swedish.

So Vi sitter i ett rum means both We sit in a room and We are sitting in a room, depending on context. Using är plus a present participle (är sittande) is very unusual and feels very formal or odd in modern Swedish.

Why is the verb sitter used together with och läser? Is that like saying are sitting and reading?

Yes. Swedish often uses a “position verb” + och + another verb to describe what someone is doing in a certain position:

sitter och läser – is sitting and reading
står och pratar – is standing and talking
ligger och sover – is lying and sleeping

So Vi sitter i ett rum och läser svenska is very natural Swedish for We are sitting in a room and (we are) reading Swedish. The second vi is understood; you don’t repeat it.

Could the sentence also be Vi sitter och läser svenska i ett rum? Is that word order OK?

Yes, that word order is also correct:

Vi sitter i ett rum och läser svenska.
Vi sitter och läser svenska i ett rum.

Both are grammatical. The difference is mostly a matter of rhythm and focus.

The first version slightly emphasizes the room as the place where everything happens.
The second sounds a bit more like we are engaged in the activity of sitting and reading Swedish, and by the way this happens in a room.

In everyday speech, both would be understood in exactly the same way.

Why is it i ett rum and not på ett rum?

For being inside a room, Swedish uses i:

i ett rum – in a room
i huset – in the house
i bilen – in the car

På is used more for surfaces or certain set expressions:

på bordet – on the table
på kontoret – at the office
på skolan – at the school (as an institution)

You might hear på rummet in specific contexts, e.g. at a hotel (sitta på rummet = sit in the (hotel) room), but the neutral, general expression is i ett rum.

Why is it ett rum and not en rum?

Swedish nouns have two grammatical genders:

en-words (common gender) – e.g. en stol (a chair)
ett-words (neuter) – e.g. ett rum (a room)

Unfortunately, there is no simple rule that tells you the gender from the meaning. You generally have to learn the gender together with each noun.

Here, rum happens to be a neuter noun, so you must say:

ett rum – a room
rummet – the room

What exactly does läser svenska mean? Is it read Swedish or study Swedish?

The verb läsa primarily means to read, but in many contexts it also means to study (a subject).

So läsa svenska can mean:

to read Swedish (as in: read Swedish texts)
to study Swedish (as a subject, language course)

In a sentence like Vi sitter i ett rum och läser svenska, the most natural interpretation is We are studying Swedish, but We are reading Swedish is also possible depending on context.

Why is svenska not capitalized? In English we write Swedish with a capital S.

In Swedish, names of languages and nationalities are normally not capitalized:

svenska – Swedish (language)
engelska – English
tyska – German
franska – French

You only capitalize them at the beginning of a sentence or in titles, not because they are language names.

Why is there no article before svenska? Why not läser den svenska or something similar?

When talking about languages in general, Swedish uses no article:

lära sig svenska – to learn Swedish
prata engelska – to speak English
studera tyska – to study German

You can use the definite form svenskan when you mean the Swedish language in a more general or contrastive sense:

Jag tycker att svenskan är svår. – I think (the) Swedish (language) is difficult.

But in läser svenska, you are just naming the subject you are studying, so no article is used.

Does Swedish have a special “-ing” form like English reading, sitting?

Not in the same way. Swedish has:

infinitive: läsa – to read
present tense: läser – read / are reading
present participle (rarely used like English -ing): läsande – reading (as adjective/participle)

For ongoing actions, Swedish normally just uses the simple present or constructions like:

sitter och läser – is sitting and reading
står och väntar – is standing and waiting
ligger och tittar – is lying and watching

So Vi sitter i ett rum och läser svenska covers the English We are sitting in a room and reading/studying Swedish without needing an -ing form.

Is it necessary to repeat vi before läser, like Vi sitter i ett rum och vi läser svenska?

No, you normally do not repeat the subject if it is the same:

Vi sitter i ett rum och läser svenska.

This is the natural, standard way to say it. Repeating it:

Vi sitter i ett rum och vi läser svenska.

is grammatically possible, but it sounds unnecessary and a bit heavy unless you want to emphasize the second part for some reason.

How is rum pronounced? Is it like English room?

Not exactly. Key points:

r is usually a tapped or trilled r (depending on dialect).
u in Swedish is a front rounded vowel, somewhere between the u in dude and the i in sit, but with rounded lips. It is not the long oo sound.
m is like English m.

So rum is one syllable, roughly like saying room, but with a shorter, tenser vowel produced with rounded lips more to the front of the mouth.

What is the plural of rum? Do you say rumar?

The plural of rum is also rum:

ett rum – a room
flera rum – several rooms

Many neuter nouns ending in a consonant have no ending in the indefinite plural. So rummar is incorrect; you just say rum for both singular (indefinite) and plural (indefinite), and rely on context or numbers:

ett rum – one room
två rum – two rooms

Could you also say Vi sitter i ett rum och studerar svenska? What is the difference between läser and studerar?

Yes, that sentence is correct: Vi sitter i ett rum och studerar svenska.

Difference in nuance:

läsa is more general and very common: to read, to study (especially school/university subjects).
studera is a bit more formal and strongly emphasizes studying in an academic or focused way.

In everyday speech, läsa svenska is more common and sounds more natural, especially for language courses. Studera svenska sounds a bit more formal or academic.