Learn Hardcore Swedish: När gästerna kommer, blir alla smutsiga tallrikar snabbt bortplockade från bordet. - When the guests come, all the dirty plates are quickly cleared away from the table.

När gästerna kommer, blir alla smutsiga tallrikar snabbt bortplockade från bordet.

When the guests come, all the dirty plates are quickly cleared away from the table.

Breakdown of När gästerna kommer, blir alla smutsiga tallrikar snabbt bortplockade från bordet.

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Questions & Answers about När gästerna kommer, blir alla smutsiga tallrikar snabbt bortplockade från bordet.

Why is kommer in the present tense if this can refer to a future situation (“when the guests arrive”)?

In Swedish, the present tense is very often used for future events when there is a time expression or time clause that makes the future clear.

När gästerna kommer literally: “When the guests come”
Meaning in natural English: “When the guests arrive / when the guests will arrive”

Because när already places the event in time (a future situation relative to now), Swedish doesn’t need a special future form. This is completely normal and very common:

När jag kommer hem, ringer jag dig. – “When I get home, I’ll call you.”
När filmen börjar, släcker vi lamporna. – “When the film starts, we’ll turn off the lights.”

Why is there a comma after När gästerna kommer?

Swedish normally puts a comma between a dependent (subordinate) clause and the main clause when the dependent clause comes first.

Dependent clause: När gästerna kommer (introduced by the subordinator när)
Main clause: blir alla smutsiga tallrikar snabbt bortplockade från bordet

So the pattern is:

[Subordinate clause], [Main clause].
När gästerna kommer, blir alla smutsiga tallrikar …

If you switch the order, the comma disappears:

Alla smutsiga tallrikar blir snabbt bortplockade från bordet när gästerna kommer. (no comma)

Why does the verb blir come right after the comma? Why not start with alla smutsiga tallrikar?

Because of Swedish verb-second (V2) word order.

In a main clause, the finite verb (here: blir) must usually be in second position, no matter what comes first. After the initial när-clause, that whole clause counts as “position 1”, so the verb has to be next:

När gästerna kommer,
blir … (finite verb in 2nd position)
alla smutsiga tallrikar … (subject follows the verb)

If you start directly with the subject, you still keep V2:

Alla smutsiga tallrikar blir snabbt bortplockade från bordet.

But when something else comes first (like a time clause or an adverbial), the finite verb still needs to be in position 2.

Why is it blir bortplockade and not är bortplockade?

Both bli and vara can be used with past participles, but they have different focuses:

bli + past participle → focuses on the process / change
- blir bortplockade = “are (get) cleared away” (the action of removing them happens)
vara + past participle → focuses on the resulting state
- är bortplockade = “are cleared away” (they are already in that state)

In this sentence, we’re talking about what happens when the guests arrive, so it’s natural to use blir to express that the plates are (then) removed as an event.

What exactly is bortplockade grammatically?

Bortplockade is a past participle formed from the particle verb plocka bort (“to clear away / remove”).

Infinitive: plocka bort – “to clear away”
Past participle (common gender, singular): bortplockad
Past participle (plural or definite form): bortplockade

Here it appears in plural to agree with tallrikar (plates):

tallriken är bortplockad – the plate is cleared away (singular)
tallrikarna är bortplockade – the plates are cleared away (plural)
In our sentence: alla smutsiga tallrikar blir … bortplockade (plural agreement)

So bortplockade works like an adjective here and must match the number (and, in other contexts, gender/definiteness) of tallrikar.

Why is it one word bortplockade and not two words like plockade bort?

There’s a difference between:

Finite verb + particle:
- plockade bort tallrikarna – “cleared away the plates” (simple past)
  Here plockade is the finite verb, and bort is a particle that comes after it.
Past participle of a particle verb:
- bortplockade tallrikar / är bortplockade
  When you form a participle, the particle and the verb are usually joined into one word: bortplockad / bortplockade.

So plockade bort is the normal verb form in a clause,
and bortplockade is the adjectival/participle form used with är / blir or directly before a noun.

Why is it alla smutsiga tallrikar and not alla smutsiga tallrikarna?

In Swedish, alla + indefinite plural noun is very common when you mean “all (of the) [X] that are present in this context”, without strongly “double-marking” definiteness.

alla smutsiga tallrikar = “all (the) dirty plates” (in context, the ones on the table)
alla smutsiga tallrikarna would sound unusual; if you want a definite form after alla, you typically add de:
- alla de smutsiga tallrikarna

So:

alla + indefinite plural (no -na) is the normal, neutral pattern:
- alla barn, alla bilar, alla böckerna is odd, alla böcker is normal
alla de + definite plural is possible and more specific / emphatic:
- alla de smutsiga tallrikarna = all those particular dirty plates (often contrasting with others)

Could I say alla de smutsiga tallrikarna here instead, and what would be the difference?

Yes, grammatically you can say:

När gästerna kommer, blir alla de smutsiga tallrikarna snabbt bortplockade från bordet.

The difference is mainly in emphasis and specificity:

alla smutsiga tallrikar – neutral, “all dirty plates (there)”
alla de smutsiga tallrikarna – “all those dirty plates”,
often implying a specific, known set, or maybe a contrast (e.g., those, and not some other plates).

In everyday speech, alla smutsiga tallrikar is more typical and feels lighter and more neutral.

Why is gästerna definite but smutsiga tallrikar is indefinite?

Because they play different roles in the context:

gästerna – definite plural: “the guests”
We are talking about a specific, known group (the guests at this event).
smutsiga tallrikar – indefinite plural: “dirty plates”
We’re referring to all plates that are dirty in that situation, not to a previously identified fixed group.

Using definite for gästerna signals: the listener already knows which guests we mean.
Using indefinite for smutsiga tallrikar keeps it more general: any plates that are dirty at that moment.

Where can the adverb snabbt go in the sentence? Is blir alla smutsiga tallrikar snabbt bortplockade the only option?

Adverbs like snabbt (manner adverbs) are flexible. Some natural variants:

När gästerna kommer, blir alla smutsiga tallrikar snabbt bortplockade från bordet.
När gästerna kommer, blir alla smutsiga tallrikar bortplockade snabbt från bordet. (less common, but possible)
När gästerna kommer, blir snabbt alla smutsiga tallrikar bortplockade från bordet. (emphasizes snabbt a bit more)

The most neutral and idiomatic place is usually just after the finite verb or after the subject, as in the original:

… blir alla smutsiga tallrikar snabbt bortplockade …
or: … blir snabbt alla smutsiga tallrikar bortplockade …

Putting it between blir and bortplockade (as in the original) is very typical.

Why is it från bordet (“from the table”) and not på bordet (“on the table”)?

The combination of:

bort (away)
and the preposition från (from)

emphasizes movement away from a place.

plocka bort något från bordet – remove/clear something from the table
på bordet only indicates location on the table, not removal.

If you said something like tallrikarna blir bortplockade på bordet, it would sound wrong or at least very odd, because “on the table” doesn’t match the meaning of bort (“away”). For removal, you need från.

Could I use the -s passive, like plockas bort, instead of blir bortplockade?

Yes, you could express the idea with the -s passive, for example:

När gästerna kommer, plockas alla smutsiga tallrikar snabbt bort från bordet.

Both are correct, but there are nuances:

plockas bort (s-passive)
- Slightly more neutral / impersonal, often used in descriptions and instructions.
- Focus on the action itself.
blir bortplockade (bli + participle)
- Often gives a clearer sense of change of state (“they become cleared away”).
- Feels a bit more like describing what happens to the plates.

In practice, both versions would be easily understood and acceptable in this context.

How is the word order different in När gästerna kommer, blir alla smutsiga tallrikar… vs. När kommer gästerna?

Compare:

När gästerna kommer, blir alla smutsiga tallrikar snabbt bortplockade…
- När gästerna kommer is a subordinate clause (introduced by när as a conjunction).
- Word order inside a subordinate clause is subject–verb:
  - gästerna (S) + kommer (V)
När kommer gästerna?
- This is a main clause question.
- När is a question word, and the main clause still follows V2:
  - När (question word in position 1) + kommer (V, position 2) + gästerna (S)

So when när is a conjunction, it makes a subordinate clause with subject before verb.
When när is a question word, the main-clause V2 rule applies, and the verb comes before the subject.