Breakdown of Han skriver också, men han använder mobilen istället för en dagbok.
Questions & Answers about Han skriver också, men han använder mobilen istället för en dagbok.
In Swedish, a comma is normally used before men when it introduces a new main clause.
- Han skriver också, men han använder mobilen …
= two main clauses:- Han skriver också.
- Han använder mobilen istället för en dagbok.
So the comma is like in more formal English:
“He also writes, but he uses his phone instead of a diary.”
You may sometimes see it written without the comma in casual texts, but using the comma here is standard and recommended.
You normally must repeat the subject in Swedish:
- Correct: Han skriver också, men han använder mobilen…
- Odd / ungrammatical in normal Swedish: *Han skriver också, men använder mobilen…
Unlike in English, Swedish does not usually drop the subject just because it is the same as in the previous clause. Each finite verb (skriver, använder) needs its subject expressed: han.
This is mostly about adverb placement.
For a neutral sentence, Swedish prefers this pattern in main clauses:
Subject – Finite verb – Adverb – (object/other information)
So:
- Han skriver också. (He also writes.)
Here skriver is the finite verb, so också goes after it.
Han också skriver is not completely impossible, but it sounds unusual and marked; it would be used only in special emphasis patterns and is not the normal word order a learner should use.
In this sentence, också = “also / too / as well”.
- Han skriver också = He also writes / He writes as well.
Difference from även:
också
- Very common in spoken and informal Swedish.
- Neutral, everyday “also/too”.
även
- Feels a bit more formal or written.
- Often closer to English “also” or sometimes “even”, depending on context.
You could say:
- Han skriver även, men han använder mobilen istället för en dagbok.
This is grammatical, just a bit more formal or written in style.
This is about definite vs. indefinite forms:
- mobilen = the phone (definite)
- en dagbok = a diary (indefinite)
mobilen is definite because in context we assume “his phone / the phone he has” – a specific one that both speaker and listener can identify. Swedish often uses the definite form instead of a possessive when ownership is clear from context.
en dagbok is indefinite because it refers to “a diary (in general)”, not a specific diary we already know about. It’s about the type of object he could use, not a particular diary.
If you said dagboken, it would sound like you mean one particular diary that both people know about (“instead of the diary,” that specific one).
Both are possible, but the default is the definite noun:
- Han använder mobilen istället för en dagbok.
Literally: He uses the phone instead of a diary.
Typically understood as: He uses *his phone…*
Swedish very often uses the definite form (mobilen) where English would use “his/her/my/etc. + noun”, especially for:
- body parts: Han tvättar händerna (He washes his hands.)
- clothes and personal items: Hon tar på sig jackan (She puts on her jacket.)
- clearly personal belongings in context: Han använder mobilen (He uses his phone.)
You could say:
- Han använder sin mobil istället för en dagbok.
This is also correct. Using sin mobil can slightly highlight the owner (“his own phone”), but in normal speech mobilen is more natural and shorter.
istället för = “instead of”.
- Han använder mobilen istället för en dagbok.
= He uses his phone instead of a diary.
About spelling:
- istället and i stället are both accepted.
- In modern Swedish, istället (one word) is more common and is what you’ll usually see in everyday writing.
- There is no difference in meaning here; it’s just an orthographic variation.
So you may also see:
- Han använder mobilen i stället för en dagbok.
– same meaning.
You can say istället för dagbok, but the nuance changes slightly.
istället för en dagbok
= instead of a diary (as an object / type of tool)
This is the most natural and common here.istället för dagbok
sounds a bit more generic or abstract, like “instead of diary-writing as an activity” or “instead of diaries in general”.
For a normal, concrete sentence about what he uses, istället för en dagbok is the best choice.
skriver is the present tense of skriva (to write).
In Swedish, the simple present covers both:
- He writes (a general habit)
- He is writing (right now)
So Han skriver också can mean either:
- He also writes (as a habit / in general)
or - He is also writing (right now)
The exact meaning depends on context, not on the verb form.
Both are common gender (en-words):
en mobil (a mobile phone)
- definite singular: mobilen
- plural: mobiler
- definite plural: mobilerna
en dagbok (a diary)
- definite singular: dagboken
- plural: dagböcker
- definite plural: dagböckerna
Notice the vowel change o → ö in the plural: dagbok → dagböcker.
Swedish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb is in second position.
In the clause:
- han använder mobilen istället för en dagbok
the order is:
- han (subject / first element)
- använder (finite verb – second position)
- mobilen istället för en dagbok (rest of the clause)
If you wrote men använder han mobilen…, then använder would be first, han second. That word order is used in questions and some special emphatic structures, not in a normal statement after men.
So the normal statement is:
- … men han använder mobilen …
Yes, också can focus the subject (“he, too, …”), but the word order and intonation do the job.
Neutral “also writes” (focus on the activity):
- Han skriver också.
→ He also writes / He writes as well.
If you want to emphasize he (he too, as opposed to someone else), you typically rely on stress in speech, often still with the same word order:
- HAN skriver också. (stress on Han)
→ HE also writes (not just someone else).
You might see structures like Också han skriver…, but that’s stylistically marked and less common in everyday speech. For learners, Han skriver också with the right stress is the safest choice.