Breakdown of Vi väntar på bussen vid parkeringen.
Questions & Answers about Vi väntar på bussen vid parkeringen.
In Swedish, vänta på is a fixed combination that means to wait for (someone/something). The preposition på is required here.
- Vi väntar på bussen = We are waiting for the bus.
- You cannot say *vi väntar bussen in this sense (that sounds wrong or very unusual).
- *vänta för does not mean wait for in Swedish.
There is a form vänta någon (without på), but it means to expect someone or to wait for someone in a more formal or old-fashioned style, and it’s mainly used with people, not things:
- Läkaren väntar dig klockan tre. = The doctor is expecting you at three.
For everyday “wait for X”, always learn the chunk vänta på X.
Swedish does not usually use a special tense form for “am/is/are doing” like English does. The present tense in Swedish covers both:
- Vi väntar på bussen.
= We wait for the bus. / We are waiting for the bus.
Context tells you whether it’s a general habit or something happening right now.
If you really want to emphasize that something is happening right now, Swedish can use håller på att:
- Vi håller på att vänta på bussen.
But in normal conversation, people would almost always just say Vi väntar på bussen, and that naturally means “We’re waiting for the bus (right now)” in the right context.
Swedish marks definiteness with an ending on the noun:
- en buss = a bus (indefinite)
- bussen = the bus (definite)
In Vi väntar på bussen, you are waiting for a specific, known bus (for example, the bus that comes at 8:15, or the number 4 bus). That’s why bussen (the bus) is used.
If you said Vi väntar på en buss, it would mean:
- We’re waiting for a bus (any bus, not a particular one).
So en buss = not specified; bussen = a particular one that the speaker and listener can identify from context.
Yes, you can, but it changes the meaning slightly:
Vi väntar på bussen.
We are waiting for the bus (a specific bus that both of us know about: maybe the next bus on this line, or the bus to Stockholm, etc.).Vi väntar på en buss.
We are waiting for a bus (not important which bus; any bus that comes will be fine, or you’re not specifying which).
So both are grammatically correct. The choice depends on whether you mean a specific, identifiable bus (bussen) or just some bus (en buss).
Yes, på bussen on its own can mean on the bus (physically on board):
- Vi är på bussen. = We are on the bus.
In Vi väntar på bussen, though, you have to see vänta på as a unit:
- vänta på = wait for
- bussen = the bus
So vänta på bussen = wait for the bus, not wait on the bus.
The key is that vänta på is a set verb–preposition combination. When you see vänta på + noun, your default interpretation should be wait for + noun, unless something in the sentence clearly forces a different meaning.
The prepositions describe different spatial relations:
vid ≈ by / at / next to
- Vi väntar på bussen vid parkeringen.
= We are waiting for the bus by/at the parking lot (we’re close to it, next to it).
- Vi väntar på bussen vid parkeringen.
på ≈ on / on top of / on the area of
- Vi står på parkeringen.
= We are standing in the parking lot area (on its surface).
- Vi står på parkeringen.
i ≈ in / inside
- Vi är i parkeringen.
= We are inside the parking facility (e.g. inside a parking garage).
- Vi är i parkeringen.
In your sentence, vid emphasizes that you are next to the parking area, not necessarily standing right in the middle of where the cars are parked.
Again, this is about definiteness:
- en parkering = a parking lot / a parking area
- parkeringen = the parking lot
In vid parkeringen, the speakers are referring to a specific parking lot that both people know about (for example, the parking lot next to a supermarket or the one at work).
If you just said vid parkering, it would sound incomplete or unnatural in this context. You almost always need either:
- vid en parkering = by a parking lot
- vid parkeringen = by the parking lot
Here, vid parkeringen is natural because they clearly have a particular place in mind.
Yes, that sentence is also correct:
- Vi väntar på bussen vid parkeringen.
- Vid parkeringen väntar vi på bussen.
Both are grammatical. The difference is in emphasis and information structure.
Swedish has a V2 rule: in a main clause, the finite verb (here väntar) normally comes in second position, no matter what comes first.
- Vi (1st position) väntar (2nd) på bussen vid parkeringen.
- Vid parkeringen (1st) väntar (2nd) vi på bussen.
Putting Vid parkeringen first makes the place more prominent, like:
- As for the place: at the parking lot, we’re waiting for the bus.
The default, neutral order is usually with the subject first: Vi väntar på bussen vid parkeringen.
Not in a normal statement. Swedish generally requires an explicit subject pronoun.
- Vi väntar på bussen vid parkeringen. = correct
- *Väntar på bussen vid parkeringen. = wrong as a normal sentence
You can omit the subject only in some special cases:
- Imperatives (commands): Vänta på bussen! = Wait for the bus!
- Very informal note-like contexts, headlines, or diary style sometimes omit it, but that’s stylistic, not standard grammar.
In regular spoken and written Swedish, always include the subject: Vi väntar ….
Approximate pronunciations (in a simple English-friendly way):
väntar ≈ VEN-tar
- v as in very
- ä like e in bed
- stress on the first syllable: VÄN-tar
bussen ≈ BUSS-en
- u like oo in book or u in push
- double s is clearly pronounced [s], short and strong
- stress on the first syllable: BUSS-en
parkeringen ≈ par-KEH-reeng-en
- par like par in parka (short a)
- ke a bit like keh in ketchup (with a hard k)
- ring like reeng
- en like en in taken (a short, weak final syllable)
- main stress on -ke-: par-KER-ing-en
Swedish vowel and stress patterns take some time to get used to, but these approximations should help you be understood.