Learn Hardcore Swedish: Pendlandet till jobbet gör honom trött.

Pendlandet till jobbet gör honom trött.
Literally: The commuting to work makes him tired.
Here pendlandet is a noun (a thing, an activity).
Att pendla till jobbet gör honom trött.
Literally: To commute to work makes him tired.
Here att pendla is a verb phrase (infinitive “to commute”).

In practice, both mean almost the same here. Using pendlandet makes the action sound more like a fixed, concrete activity (almost like “his commute”), whereas att pendla is a bit more neutral and abstract (“commuting” in general). Both are fully correct.

What is the base verb behind pendlandet, and how is that form built?

The base verb is pendla = to commute.

The form pendlandet is built like this:

pendla (infinitive verb: to commute)
pendlande (present participle / verbal noun: commuting)
pendlandet (definite form of the noun: the commuting)

So pendlandet here is a definite noun derived from the verb, similar to English “the commuting” or “the act of commuting”.

Why is pendlandet in the definite form (-et) here?

In Swedish, when you talk about a specific, known activity as a subject, it’s very common to use the definite form of a noun:

Pendlandet till jobbet gör honom trött.
→ The specific, concrete commuting he does to work.

Compare:

Läsandet på kvällen hjälper henne att slappna av.
“(The) reading in the evening helps her relax.”

You’re not talking about reading in some totally general sense but about her reading in the evening, a particular habit. The same with pendlandet: it’s “his commuting (that he regularly does) to work”.

Is jobb an en-word or an ett-word, and how can I tell from jobbet?

Jobb is an ett-word:

ett jobb – a job
jobbet – the job

The ending -et on jobbet tells you it’s an ett-word:

ett-words: ett hus → huset, ett jobb → jobbet
en-words: en bok → boken, en bil → bilen

Why do we say till jobbet here and not på jobbet?

Because we’re talking about movement towards a place, not being located there.

till = to, towards (direction)
- Jag går till jobbet. – I walk to work.
- Pendlandet till jobbet – the commuting to work (the journey).
på = on/at (location)
- Jag är på jobbet. – I am at work.
- Det är stressigt på jobbet. – It’s stressful at work (there).

So here, till jobbet is used because commuting is the act of going to the workplace.

Why is it gör honom trött and not gör han trött?

Because honom is the object form of the pronoun (him), and in this sentence, he is the object, not the subject.

Subject form: han – he
Object form: honom – him

In the sentence:

Pendlandet till jobbet = subject (what does something)
gör = verb (does/makes)
honom = direct object (who is affected)
trött = predicative adjective (what he becomes)

So literally:
Pendlandet till jobbet (subject) gör (makes) honom (object) trött (tired).

You would use han only if he were the subject:

Han blir trött. – He gets tired.

What exactly does gör mean here, and can we use blir instead?

Here gör is used like English “makes” in the sense of “causes (someone) to be/become”:

göra någon trött – to make someone tired
göra någon glad – to make someone happy

Yes, you can also use blir but the structure changes:

Pendlandet till jobbet gör honom trött.
= The commuting to work makes him tired.
Han blir trött av att pendla till jobbet.
= He gets/becomes tired from commuting to work.

So:

gör honom trött → emphasizes the cause acting on him.
blir trött av … → emphasizes his change of state (“he becomes tired”) and then adds the cause with av.

Why is trött in that basic form and not something like trötta?

Trött is an adjective meaning tired. In this sentence it is used as a predicative (a complement describing the object honom):

Pendlandet till jobbet gör honom trött.
- commuting (subject)
- makes (verb)
- him (object)
- tired (adjective)

For predicative adjectives, Swedish agrees mainly in number:

Singular (en/ett nouns or singular pronouns): trött
- Han är trött. – He is tired.
- Hon är trött. – She is tired.
- Barnet är trött. – The child is tired.
Plural: trötta
- De är trötta. – They are tired.

Since honom refers to one person, the singular form trött is correct, not trötta.

Could we say Pendlingen till jobbet gör honom trött instead of pendlandet? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

Pendlingen till jobbet gör honom trött.

Here, pendling is a more “standard” noun meaning “commuting”. Rough nuance:

pendlandet – focuses a bit more on the activity as it is carried out, almost like “the actual commuting he does”.
pendlingen – a slightly more neutral noun, “the commuting” as a concept or routine.

In everyday speech, both are understandable and acceptable, and the difference is subtle. Many speakers might not feel a strong difference in this sentence.