Det är kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom när vi vill se mer av naturen.

It is the neighborhood that we often walk through when we want to see more of nature.

Breakdown of Det är kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom när vi vill se mer av naturen.

• vara: to be
• vilja: to want
• vi: we
• när: when
• det: it
• ofta: often
• se: to see
• som: that
• mer: more
• av: of
• naturen: the nature
• kvarteret: the neighborhood
• gå igenom: to walk through

Questions & Answers about Det är kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom när vi vill se mer av naturen.

Why does the sentence start with Det är kvarteret som … instead of simply Kvarteret är …?

This is a common Swedish structure called a cleft sentence: Det är X som Y.

• Det är kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom …
  literally: It is the block that we often walk through …

It’s used to emphasize the part after är (here: kvarteret).
Compare:

• Vi går ofta igenom kvarteret när vi vill se mer av naturen.
  = We often walk through the block when we want to see more of nature. (neutral)
• Det är kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom …
  = It’s that block in particular that we often walk through… (focus on kvarteret)

In English you often use stress or word order to show the same focus, e.g.
It’s that block that we often walk through…

What exactly does kvarteret mean here? Is it “neighborhood” or “block”?

Kvarteret is the definite form of kvarter.

Typical meanings:

• A city block (the area surrounded by streets)
• Sometimes a small area / part of a neighborhood

In most contexts like this, kvarteret = the block (a specific, known block).
If you wanted to talk about a more general neighborhood, you might instead see words like område, stadsdel, or grannskap.

Why do we need som in kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom? Can it be omitted like “the block we often walk through” in English?

In Swedish, som (the relative pronoun) is not optional here – you must include it:

• ✅ kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom
• ❌ kvarteret vi ofta går igenom (ungrammatical in standard Swedish)

Som works like that/which/who in English relative clauses:

• boken som jag läser = the book (that/which) I am reading
• personen som ringde = the person (who) called

Unlike English, Swedish does not allow you to drop som in this type of clause.

Why is the word order som vi ofta går igenom and not som vi går ofta igenom?

This shows the difference between main clauses and subordinate clauses in Swedish.

Main clause (verb in 2nd position, V2 rule):

• Vi går ofta igenom kvarteret.
  subject (vi) – verb (går) – adverb (ofta)

Subordinate clause (like after som, att, när):
the sentence adverb (e.g. inte, ofta) comes before the verb:

• som vi ofta går igenom
  som – subject (vi) – adverb (ofta) – verb (går)

So:

• ✅ som vi ofta går igenom (correct subordinate clause order)
• ❌ som vi går ofta igenom (wrong order for a subordinate clause)

What is the difference between igenom in går igenom and genom? Could you say går genom kvarteret?

Both genom and igenom can be used with the meaning through when talking about movement:

• gå genom kvarteret
• gå igenom kvarteret

Both are understood, and many speakers use them more or less interchangeably in this physical sense.

Some nuances (not strict rules):

• igenom often emphasizes movement all the way through something.
• gå igenom is also a common phrasal verb meaning go through / examine / review, e.g.
  gå igenom texten = go through the text (check it carefully).

In your sentence, går igenom simply means walk through (from one side to the other).
You can say går genom kvarteret; your version with igenom is also very natural.

Why is it när vi vill se mer av naturen and not om vi vill se mer av naturen?

• när = when (in time; each time that)
• om = if (conditional) or whether

In your sentence, the meaning is habitual:
each time / whenever we want to see more of nature, we do this.

So när is correct:

• … när vi vill se mer av naturen.
  = when(ever) we want to see more of nature.

If you said om vi vill se mer av naturen, it would sound more like a condition:

• … if we want to see more of nature (maybe we do, maybe we don’t).

Why is it vill se and not vill att se, like “want to see”?

In Swedish, vill (want) is normally followed directly by another verb in the infinitive:

• vill se = want to see
• vill gå = want to go
• vill göra = want to do

You do not put att between vill and the next verb:

• ✅ vi vill se mer av naturen
• ❌ vi vill att se mer av naturen

You can use vill att in a different structure, when someone wants someone else to do something:

• Jag vill att du ska komma. = I want you to come.

Why is it mer av naturen instead of just mer naturen or mer natur?

These have slightly different meanings:

• mer av naturen
  = more of the nature (more of that nature/area we’re already talking about)

• mer natur
  = more nature in general, more natural environment, more wilderness (indefinite, unspecific)

• mer naturen
  is not idiomatic here; mer + definite noun without av is unusual.

The pattern mer av + definite noun is common when you mean:

• more of a specific, known thing:
  • mer av filmen = more of the film (more of that particular film)
  • mer av kakan = more of the cake
  • mer av naturen = more of the (surrounding) nature / the natural environment around us

So mer av naturen fits well when you’re talking about the nature in a particular area.

Why is naturen in the definite form? In English we usually say “see more of nature”, not “the nature”.

Swedish often uses a definite noun where English uses a bare noun:

• naturen = the nature / nature (as a general concept)
• musiken = the music / music
• våren = the spring / spring

In many contexts, Swedish prefers the definite form when talking about nature as the environment around us:

• Jag gillar att vara ute i naturen.
  = I like being out in nature.

So mer av naturen sounds fully natural: it’s “more of the (surrounding) nature” in Swedish, but translated idiomatically as more of nature in English.

Is det here a “dummy it”, like in English, or does it refer to something specific?

In Det är kvarteret som …, det is a kind of dummy/expletive pronoun, similar to English it in It is the block that….

• It doesn’t refer to a specific noun.
• It’s part of the cleft construction: Det är X som Y.

You normally don’t replace it with den or det agreeing with kvarteret; you just use det:

• ✅ Det är kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom …
• ❌ Den är kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom … (incorrect)

Could you also say Det här är kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom …? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Det här är kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom när vi vill se mer av naturen.

Difference in nuance:

• Det är kvarteret som …
  Focus/contrast: It’s the block (as opposed to something else) that we often walk through…

• Det här är kvarteret som …
  More like pointing: This is the block that we often walk through…
  (for example, when you’re physically there and showing it to someone)

Both are correct; they just express slightly different things.

Is there any other way to phrase the same idea in Swedish without using the Det är … som … structure?

Yes, you can express the same meaning with a more neutral word order:

• Vi går ofta igenom kvarteret när vi vill se mer av naturen.

This is a straightforward statement:

• subject: vi
• verb phrase: går ofta igenom
• object: kvarteret
• time/condition clause: när vi vill se mer av naturen

Compared to this:

• Det är kvarteret som vi ofta går igenom … adds focus on kvarteret, highlighting which place you go through.