Learn Hardcore Swedish: Nu läser hon svenska därför att hon vill jobba som sjuksköterska här i landet. - Now she studies Swedish because she wants to work as a nurse here in the country.

Nu läser hon svenska därför att hon vill jobba som sjuksköterska här i landet.

Now she studies Swedish because she wants to work as a nurse here in the country.

Breakdown of Nu läser hon svenska därför att hon vill jobba som sjuksköterska här i landet.

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Questions & Answers about Nu läser hon svenska därför att hon vill jobba som sjuksköterska här i landet.

Why is läser used here? In English we would usually say she is studying Swedish, not she is reading Swedish.

In Swedish, läsa is used both for to read and to study. Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Hon läser en bok. = She is reading a book.
Hon läser svenska. = She is studying Swedish.
Han läser medicin på universitetet. = He studies medicine at university.

There is also plugga, which is more informal and very common in speech:

Nu pluggar hon svenska. (colloquial, everyday)
Nu läser hon svenska. (neutral, works in both speech and writing)

Both are correct; läser is just a bit more neutral/formal than pluggar.

Why is the word order Nu läser hon svenska and not Nu hon läser svenska?

Swedish is a V2 language: the finite verb normally comes in second position in main clauses.

In this sentence:

Nu = an adverbial (time: now)
läser = the finite verb
hon = the subject
svenska = the object

So when you start the sentence with Nu, the verb must come next:

Nu läser hon svenska. ✅
Hon läser svenska nu. ✅ (subject first, verb still in second position)
Nu hon läser svenska. ❌ (verb is not in second position, so ungrammatical)

Why is svenska not capitalized like Swedish in English?

In Swedish, names of languages and nationalities are not capitalized, unless they start a sentence.

So you write:

svenska, engelska, tyska, franska
svensk, engelsk, tysk, fransk

In the sentence, svenska is a noun meaning the Swedish language:

Hon läser svenska. = She is studying Swedish (the language).

If you use it as an adjective, it still stays lowercase:

svenska böcker = Swedish books
svensk kultur = Swedish culture

What is the difference between nu and just nu? Could the sentence start with Just nu instead?

nu = now, these days, at present (quite general)
just nu = right now, at this very moment (more specific and immediate)

In many contexts you can use either, but the nuance changes:

Nu läser hon svenska.
→ She is studying Swedish now / these days (could be a course that lasts months).
Just nu läser hon svenska.
→ Right now she is studying Swedish (for example, at this moment she is at a Swedish class or doing homework).

Both are grammatically correct. Which one is better depends on whether you mean currently in life or at this very moment.

Why is därför att used? What is the difference between därför att, eftersom, and för att?

All three can be translated as because, but they are used slightly differently.

därför att
Often explicitly introduces a reason, especially when you want to emphasize the cause:
- Nu läser hon svenska därför att hon vill jobba som sjuksköterska här i landet.
eftersom
Also means because, often feels a bit more neutral or formal:
- Nu läser hon svenska eftersom hon vill jobba som sjuksköterska här i landet.
In many cases, därför att and eftersom are interchangeable.
för att
Primarily means in order to (purpose), not just cause:
- Hon läser svenska för att kunna jobba som sjuksköterska.
  = She studies Swedish in order to be able to work as a nurse. (purpose)

In everyday speech, some people do use för att to mean because, but if you are learning Swedish, it is safer to use:

därför att / eftersom for because
för att for in order to

Why is there no att before jobba? In English we say wants to work.

In Swedish, modal verbs are usually followed directly by the infinitive without att.

Common modal verbs:

vilja (want to)
kunna (can, be able to)
måste (must, have to)
ska (shall, going to)
få (may, be allowed to)

So you say:

Hon vill jobba. (not vill att jobba)
Hon kan jobba.
Hon måste jobba.
Hon ska jobba.

That is why the sentence has hon vill jobba, not hon vill att jobba.

What is the difference between jobba and arbeta? Could the sentence use arbeta instead?

Both jobba and arbeta mean to work.

jobba is more informal/colloquial, very common in spoken Swedish.
arbeta is more formal, common in writing, official contexts, or when you want a slightly more serious tone.

In this sentence you could use either:

… hon vill jobba som sjuksköterska … (most natural in everyday speech)
… hon vill arbeta som sjuksköterska … (a bit more formal)

The meaning is the same.

What exactly does som mean in jobba som sjuksköterska?

Here, som means as (in the role of).

jobba som sjuksköterska = work as a nurse
jobba som lärare = work as a teacher
jobba som ingenjör = work as an engineer

som can also mean who/that/which in relative clauses, but that is not the case here. In this sentence, it clearly introduces a role or profession.

Why is there no article before sjuksköterska? Why not som en sjuksköterska?

After certain verbs and the word som, Swedish normally does not use an article with professions, nationalities, and religions when you are just stating what someone is:

Hon är sjuksköterska. = She is a nurse.
Han är lärare. = He is a teacher.
Hon jobbar som sjuksköterska. = She works as a nurse.
Han är svensk. = He is Swedish.

So som sjuksköterska is the normal, neutral form.

You can use en sjuksköterska in other contexts:

Jag träffade en sjuksköterska. = I met a nurse.

If you say jobbar som en sjuksköterska, it sounds more like works like a nurse (comparing behavior), and is unusual unless you really want that comparison.

What does här i landet mean exactly? Why not just här or i Sverige?

här = here (in this place, in this country, depending on context)
i landet = in the country
här i landet = here in this country

här i landet emphasizes in this country (where we are) rather than in some other country. The sentence is focusing on the fact that she wants to work in this country, not abroad.

You could also say:

… hon vill jobba som sjuksköterska här.
(just here, more vague about whether that means this town, this region, or this country)
… hon vill jobba som sjuksköterska här i Sverige.
(explicitly here in Sweden)

här i landet is a natural way to say here in this country without naming the country.

Is the Swedish present tense läser more like reads or is reading / is studying in English?

Swedish only has one present tense form, which covers both:

English simple present (she reads, she studies)
English present continuous (she is reading, she is studying)

So:

Nu läser hon svenska.
can be translated as:
- She studies Swedish (now / these days), or
- She is studying Swedish (now / these days).

Context decides how you translate it into English. Grammatically, Swedish does not distinguish between reads/studies and is reading/is studying with different verb forms.

Could you drop the second hon and say Nu läser hon svenska därför att vill jobba…?

No. In standard Swedish you cannot drop the subject pronoun like that. You must repeat hon:

Nu läser hon svenska därför att hon vill jobba … ✅
Nu läser hon svenska därför att vill jobba … ❌

Each clause normally needs its own subject, even if it is the same person. Subject dropping, which happens in some spoken English (and in some other languages), is not allowed in standard Swedish.

How is sjuksköterska pronounced and what does the word literally consist of?

Pronunciation (rough guide):

sjuksköterska ≈ ʃʉːk‑ʃøː‑ters‑ka
- sjuk: the sj is a sh‑like sound made further back in the mouth
- sjuk rhymes roughly with hook but with rounded y/ʉ vowel
- skö: sk before ö is also the same sj sound
- ö is like the vowel in French deux or German schön

Literal parts:

sjuk = sick
sköta = to take care of
‑erska = old feminine agent suffix (like female doer)

Historically, sjuksköterska literally means something like female person who takes care of the sick, but today it just means nurse (both male and female).