Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.

I put the chair by the table.

Breakdown of Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.

• jag: I
• vid: by
• bordet: the table
• stolen: the chair
• ställa: to park

Questions & Answers about Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.

What does ställer mean here, and how is it different from står?

Ställer is the active verb: to put / to place upright.
Står is the state: to stand / to be standing.

• Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.
  → I put/am placing the chair by the table (action, you’re doing it).

• Stolen står vid bordet.
  → The chair is standing by the table (resulting position/state).

So ställer = you cause something to stand; står = it is standing.

Why is ställer used and not lägger or sätter?

Swedish chooses the verb based on the final position/orientation of the object:

• ställa – put something so it ends up standing upright
  (bottles, chairs, suitcases, etc.)
• lägga – put something so it ends up lying (horizontal)
  (books, phones, clothes on a bed)
• sätta – put something so it ends up sitting, or place a person
  (sit someone down, set a child on a chair)

A chair is normally thought of as standing, so you use ställa:
Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.

In English I’d say I am putting the chair…. Why is there no am in Swedish?

Swedish normally uses just the simple present for both:

• Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.
  = I put the chair by the table.
  = I am putting the chair by the table.

Context decides whether it’s a one-time action right now or a regular action.
Swedish has a special progressive form (håller på att ställa), but you only use it when you really want to emphasize the ongoing process:

• Jag håller på att ställa stolen vid bordet.
  = I am in the middle of putting the chair by the table (right now, in progress).

Why is it stolen and bordet, not just stol and bord?

Swedish usually marks definiteness with an ending instead of a separate word the.

• en stol = a chair

• stolen = the chair

• ett bord = a table
• bordet = the table

So:

• Jag ställer en stol vid ett bord.
  = I put a chair by a table.

• Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.
  = I put the chair by the table.

In your sentence, both chair and table are specific/known, so they are in definite form: stolen, bordet.

How do I know whether a noun takes -en or -et as the definite ending?

It comes from the noun’s gender:

• en-words (common gender) → definite -en

  • en stol → stolen (the chair)
  • en bok → boken (the book)

• ett-words (neuter gender) → definite -et

  • ett bord → bordet (the table)
  • ett hus → huset (the house)

You usually just have to learn the gender with each noun, e.g. en stol, ett bord.

Why is the word order Jag ställer stolen vid bordet and not something like Jag ställer vid bordet stolen?

The normal neutral order in Swedish main clauses is:

Subject – Verb – (Object) – (Place/Time)

So:

• Jag (subject)
• ställer (verb)
• stolen (direct object)
• vid bordet (place phrase)

Jag ställer vid bordet stolen is grammatically odd and unidiomatic.
You can move the place phrase for emphasis in some contexts, but you would then also adjust the rest of the sentence; for a simple statement, the standard order is:

Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.

What exactly does vid mean here? Could I use bredvid instead?

Vid is a rather general preposition: by / at / next to / close to.

• Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.
  → I put the chair by the table (in the immediate area of the table).

Bredvid means more specifically beside / next to (often right at the side):

• Jag ställer stolen bredvid bordet.
  → I put the chair beside the table.

In many real situations, both could describe almost the same placement. Vid is a bit more general and common; bredvid highlights “beside” more clearly.

Could I say Jag ställer stolen på bordet? How would that change the meaning?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

• vid bordet = by/at the table, next to it on the floor.
• på bordet = on the table, on its surface.

So:

• Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.
  → You’re putting the chair on the floor, near the table.

• Jag ställer stolen på bordet.
  → You’re lifting the chair up and putting it on top of the table (unusual, but possible).

Does Jag ställer stolen vid bordet refer only to now, or can it also mean the future?

Swedish present tense can express present, habitual, or near future, depending on context:

• Present, right now:
  Jag ställer stolen vid bordet (nu).
  → I am putting the chair by the table (now).

• Habitual:
  Varje morgon ställer jag stolen vid bordet.
  → Every morning I put the chair by the table.

• Future (planned):
  Imorgon ställer jag stolen vid bordet.
  → Tomorrow I’ll put the chair by the table.

The verb form is the same; time words like nu, imorgon, varje morgon etc. show the time.

What is the difference between jag ställer stolen and just ställer stolen?

Jag is the subject pronoun I.
Swedish normally requires an explicit subject in main clauses, so:

• Jag ställer stolen vid bordet.
  = I put the chair by the table. (correct)

Just Ställer stolen vid bordet sounds incomplete or like a fragment (unless it’s part of instructions where the subject is understood as you, but even then Ställ stolen vid bordet—imperative—is used instead).

Imperative (a command) drops the subject and uses a different form:

• Ställ stolen vid bordet!
  = Put the chair by the table!

How is ställer pronounced, and is the ä similar to any English sound?

Ställer is roughly pronounced: STEHL-ler (two syllables).

• ä in ställer sounds like the vowel in English “bed” or “ten”, but a bit clearer and shorter.
• Stress is on the first syllable: STÄL-ler.

So you get something like STEL-ler, not STALL-er or STAY-ler.