Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hon vill bo nära centrum och dessutom ha en buss som går ofta. - She wants to live near the city center and in addition have a bus that runs often.

In Swedish, modal verbs like vill (wants), kan (can), måste (must), ska (shall/will), brukar (usually does) are followed directly by an infinitive verb, without att.

So the pattern is:

hon vill bo – she wants to live
hon kan bo – she can live
hon måste bo – she must live

Using att here would be incorrect:

❌ hon vill att bo
✅ hon vill bo

You do use att when the verb is not a modal, e.g.:

hon försöker att bo nära – she tries to live close
hon gillar att bo nära – she likes living close

What is the difference between bo and leva? Both can mean “live”, right?

Yes, both translate as “live” in English, but they’re used differently:

bo = live somewhere, in the sense of “reside”, “have your home”
- Hon vill bo nära centrum. – She wants to live (have her home) near the city centre.
- Var bor du? – Where do you live?
leva = live as a being, be alive, or live one’s life
- Han lever fortfarande. – He is still alive.
- Hon vill leva ett lugnt liv. – She wants to live a calm life.

So in this sentence it must be bo, because it’s about where she resides, not about just being alive.

Why is it nära centrum and not nära till centrum or nära centrumet?

A few points here:

No “till” after nära
In Swedish, nära (near/close) is used without a preposition:
- ✅ nära centrum – near the centre
- ❌ nära till centrum
Indefinite form: centrum
Centrum already has a “general” feel, like “the town centre / downtown” in English. Swedish often uses the indefinite form for this:
- nära centrum ≈ near the (city) centre / near downtown
You can also say:
- nära stadens centrum – near the city’s centre
- nära centrumet – near the (specific) centre
Nära centrum is the most common, neutral way to say “near the city centre.”
Grammar note
Centrum is a neuter noun (ett centrum), but here it’s in singular indefinite form, so just centrum.

What exactly does nära mean here? Is it an adjective or a preposition?

In hon vill bo nära centrum, nära functions like a preposition/adverb meaning “near, close to”.

Some patterns:

Bo nära centrum – live near the centre.
Bo nära sjön – live near the lake.
Han står nära henne. – He stands close to her.

Nära can also be an adjective meaning “close” (in relationships or distances):

Vi är väldigt nära. – We are very close (emotionally).
Det är nära. – It’s close (distance or time).

You don’t need another preposition after it in this sentence; nära centrum is complete.

What does dessutom mean, and how is it different from också or även?

Dessutom means “in addition, moreover, on top of that”. It adds another requirement or another point.

Hon vill bo nära centrum och dessutom ha en buss som går ofta.
→ She wants to live near the centre and on top of that have a bus that runs frequently.

Rough differences:

också = also, too (more neutral, very common)
- Hon vill också bo nära centrum. – She also wants to live near the centre.
även = also, even; a bit more formal or emphatic
- Hon vill även ha en buss som går ofta.
dessutom = in addition, furthermore; “and not only that, but…”
- Det är dyrt och dessutom bullrigt. – It’s expensive and also noisy.

In this sentence, dessutom highlights that the bus is an extra condition, not just another simple “also” fact.

Why is it och dessutom ha and not och dessutom vill ha? We only see vill once.

In Swedish, when two (or more) verbs share the same subject and same modal verb, you often mention the modal only once and then list the infinitives:

Hon vill bo nära centrum och dessutom ha en buss…
= She wants to live near the centre and (to) have a bus…

The full underlying structure is:

Hon vill [bo nära centrum] och [dessutom ha en buss som går ofta].

You could say hon vill bo nära centrum och dessutom vill ha…, but that sounds unnatural. Swedish prefers:

one vill
several infinitives: bo and ha

Why do you use ha en buss (“have a bus”) instead of something like “have a bus stop” or “have a bus line”?

Swedish often uses ha + [means of transport] to mean “have access to / have available” rather than literally owning it.

So ha en buss som går ofta is understood as:

have a bus service / a bus line that runs often nearby, not own a bus.

Compare:

Ha en buss som går ofta – have a (nearby) bus that runs often
Ha tunnelbana i närheten – have a metro nearby
Ha bra kommunikationer – have good transport connections

The exact “English equivalent” might be:

“She wants to live near the centre and (also) have a frequent bus service.”

What does som do in en buss som går ofta?

Som is a relative pronoun, similar to English “that/which/who”.

In en buss som går ofta:

en buss – a bus
som går ofta – that runs often

So som introduces a relative clause:

en buss som går ofta – a bus that goes often / runs frequently

Other examples:

en man som bor här – a man who lives here
en bok som jag gillar – a book that I like

Why do buses gå (går ofta) instead of “köra” or “komma”? What does gå mean here?

Swedish uses gå (literally “go, walk”) as the standard verb for public transport running on its route:

Bussen går var tionde minut. – The bus runs every ten minutes.
Tåget går klockan sju. – The train leaves at seven.
När går nästa buss? – When does the next bus go?

So som går ofta means “that runs frequently / that comes often”.

You could use other verbs in different contexts:

köra – to drive
- Han kör bussen. – He drives the bus.
komma – to come
- Bussen kommer klockan tre. – The bus arrives at three.

But for schedules and frequency, gå is the natural verb.

Why is it en buss and not bussen? When do I use indefinite vs definite here?

En buss is indefinite singular (“a bus”) and is used because we are talking in general, not about one specific, known bus:

Hon vill … ha en buss som går ofta.
→ She wants to (live somewhere that) has a bus / a bus service that runs frequently.

If you said bussen, it would mean the bus, a particular one both speaker and listener know about:

Hon vill bo nära centrum och dessutom ha bussen som går ofta.
→ Sounds like “and also have the bus that runs often,” referring to a specific route everyone already has in mind. That’s much more specific and not the usual interpretation here.

So:

en buss som går ofta = some bus line, generally speaking
bussen som går ofta = that particular bus line (that we have already identified in the conversation)

Why is it går ofta and not går oftaT? What’s the difference between ofta and oftast?

Ofta = often, “frequently”
Oftast = most often, “usually, most of the time”

So:

Bussen går ofta. – The bus runs often / frequently.
Bussen går oftast i tid. – The bus is usually on time (most of the time).

There is no -t ending in ofta:

❌ oftat
✅ ofta

Ofta is an adverb and does not take a neuter -t ending like adjectives do (e.g. snabb → snabbt).

Is the word order hon vill bo nära centrum och dessutom ha en buss som går ofta the only possible one, or could dessutom go somewhere else?

Dessutom can move a bit in the sentence, but the given word order is very natural. Some possibilities:

Hon vill bo nära centrum och dessutom ha en buss som går ofta.
(standard, very natural)
Hon vill dessutom bo nära centrum och ha en buss som går ofta.
(emphasizes that both living near the centre and having a bus are additional demands)
Dessutom vill hon bo nära centrum och ha en buss som går ofta.
(stronger emphasis, like: “Moreover, she wants to…”)

You wouldn’t normally put dessutom at the very end:

❌ …ha en buss som går ofta dessutom. (sounds odd or at least very stylistically marked)

In the original sentence, och dessutom ha… nicely marks the second requirement as an extra one.