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Han klagar på trafiken varje morgon.

Han klagar på trafiken varje morgon.
He complains about the traffic every morning.
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Questions & Answers about Han klagar på trafiken varje morgon.

What does klagar på mean exactly, and why do we need på here?

Klagar på corresponds to complains about in English.

In Swedish, klaga almost always needs a preposition when you say what you complain about, and the normal pattern is:

  • klaga på + noun → complain about something
    • Han klagar på trafiken. = He complains about the traffic.

So you should think of klaga på as a fixed combination when the meaning is complain about (something).

Can I use other prepositions like över or om instead of på?

Sometimes, yes, but there are nuances:

  • klaga på is the most neutral and common when you complain about something concrete:
    • Han klagar på trafiken. (totally normal)
  • klaga över is a bit more formal/literary and often used for more abstract problems or suffering:
    • Hon klagar över huvudvärk. (She complains of headaches.)
  • klaga om is rare and usually not used in this meaning.

For everyday speech about traffic, klaga på trafiken is the natural choice.

Why is it trafiken (definite form) and not just trafik?

Trafiken means the traffic; trafik means (some) traffic.

In Swedish, you very often use the definite form when talking about a general, familiar thing in your environment, such as:

  • trafiken (the traffic [around here])
  • vädret (the weather)
  • bussen (the bus [that we both know])

So Han klagar på trafiken varje morgon suggests he complains about the usual traffic he experiences, which is what you would normally mean in this context.

Is Han klagar på trafik varje morgon wrong?

It is grammatically possible, but it sounds unnatural in most contexts.

Without the article, trafik feels more like some traffic in general or an abstract quantity. Native speakers almost always say:

  • Han klagar på trafiken varje morgon.

Use the definite trafiken when you mean the everyday, familiar traffic he deals with.

Can I move varje morgon to a different place in the sentence?

Yes, several positions are possible, with small differences in emphasis:

  1. Han klagar på trafiken varje morgon.
    – Neutral, very common.

  2. Varje morgon klagar han på trafiken.
    – Slightly stronger emphasis on every morning; also perfectly natural.

  3. Han klagar varje morgon på trafiken.
    – Possible, but a bit less common; the focus feels a bit more on the frequency of complaining.

The important rule: when varje morgon is at the start, the verb must still be in second position (klagar comes right after varje morgon), as in Varje morgon klagar han på trafiken.

How do I turn this into a yes/no question, like Does he complain about the traffic every morning?

For a yes/no question in Swedish, you put the verb first:

  • Han klagar på trafiken varje morgon.
    → Klagar han på trafiken varje morgon?

So the pattern is:

  • statement: [subject] + [verb] + ...
  • question: [verb] + [subject] + ...

Everything else in the sentence stays in the same order after the subject.

How do I say He doesn’t complain about the traffic every morning? Where does inte go?

The normal place for inte (not) in a main clause is after the finite verb and after the subject:

  • Han klagar inte på trafiken varje morgon.

If you move varje morgon to the front, the word order changes but inte still comes after the subject:

  • Varje morgon klagar han inte på trafiken.

So the core pattern is: [subject] + [verb] + inte + …

What tense is klagar, and does it change with different subjects?

Klagar is the present tense of klaga. It covers both English complains and is complaining.

Swedish present tense verbs do not change with the subject:

  • Jag klagar (I complain / am complaining)
  • Du klagar (You complain)
  • Han/Hon klagar (He/She complains)
  • Vi klagar (We complain)
  • De klagar (They complain)

So klagar stays the same for all persons.

Could I say Han brukar klaga på trafiken varje morgon? What is the difference?

Yes, that is correct, but it changes the meaning slightly.

  • Han klagar på trafiken varje morgon.
    – Describes a habitual action, understood from varje morgon.

  • Han brukar klaga på trafiken varje morgon.
    – Brukar adds the idea of usually or tends to:
    He usually complains about the traffic every morning.

So brukar explicitly marks something as a usual habit.

How is the sentence pronounced? Any important stress or sound points?

Key points for pronunciation:

  • Han – short a, like hun in hungry but shorter; h is pronounced.
  • klagar – stress on the first syllable: KLA-gar.
    • kla: long a, similar to the a in English father.
    • g is a hard g (like in go).
  • på – long vowel, like po in English pole but without the final l sound.
  • trafiken – stress on the second syllable: tra-FI-ken.
    • i is like ee in see.
  • varje – stress on var: VAR-je; j like English y.
  • morgon – stress on mor: MOR-gon; g often softened, almost like mor-ron in normal speech.

The main sentence stress usually falls on trafiken and varje morgon, since they carry the most important information.