Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant innan jag ringer henne.

I want to read the message carefully before I call her.

Breakdown of Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant innan jag ringer henne.

• jag: I
• läsa: to read
• vilja: to want
• ringa: to call
• meddelandet: the message
• henne: her
• innan: before
• noggrant: carefully

Questions & Answers about Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant innan jag ringer henne.

Why is it läsa and not läser after vill?

In Swedish, when you use a modal verb like vill (want), the next verb is in the infinitive form, usually without att:

• Jag vill läsa – I want to read
• Hon kan läsa – She can read
• Vi måste läsa – We must read

So you say vill läsa, not vill läser.
Läsa = infinitive (to read)
Läser = present tense (am/is/are reading)

Why is it meddelandet and not just meddelande?

Meddelande is an ett-word:

• ett meddelande – a message
• meddelandet – the message

Swedish usually uses the definite form (with the suffixed article) when you and the listener know which specific thing you mean. In English we show this with “the”, but in Swedish it’s a suffix:

• bok → boken (book → the book)
• meddelande → meddelandet (message → the message)

So läsa meddelandet = “read the message” (a specific one, not any random message).

Why is noggrant at the end: läsa meddelandet noggrant? Could I say Jag vill noggrant läsa meddelandet?

Normal, neutral Swedish word order is:

verb – object – manner adverb
läsa – meddelandet – noggrant

So Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant sounds completely natural.

You can say Jag vill noggrant läsa meddelandet, and it’s grammatically correct, but it sounds more emphatic and a bit marked, almost like you’re stressing how you will read it (carefully, not quickly or sloppily). In everyday speech, Swedes prefer:

• Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant.

What is the difference between noggrant and noggrann?

Noggrann is an adjective (“careful, thorough”).
Noggrant is its adverb form (“carefully, thoroughly”).

Use noggrann to describe a person or thing:

• Hon är noggrann. – She is careful/thorough.
• Det var ett noggrant arbete. – It was careful work.

Use noggrant to describe how something is done (the action):

• Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant. – I want to read the message carefully.
• Han kontrollerade siffrorna noggrant. – He checked the numbers carefully.

So in your sentence, you’re describing how you read, so you need the adverb: noggrant.

Why is it innan jag ringer henne and not innan ringer jag henne?

This is about main clause vs. subordinate clause word order.

• In a main clause, Swedish follows the V2 rule: the finite verb is in second position:

  • Sen ringer jag henne. – Then I call her.
    (1st: sen, 2nd: ringer)

• In a subordinate clause introduced by innan (before), the order is:

  • subordinator – subject – verb …
  • innan jag ringer henne – before I call her

So:

• Correct: innan jag ringer henne
• Incorrect: innan ringer jag henne

In subordinate clauses you do not invert subject and verb after innan.

Can I use före instead of innan here?

Not in exactly the same way.

• Innan is a conjunction: it introduces a clause (with a verb).

  • innan jag ringer henne – before I call her

• Före is usually a preposition: it goes before a noun or noun phrase, not a full clause:

  • före samtalet – before the call
  • före middagen – before dinner

So:

• Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant innan jag ringer henne. ✅
• Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant före jag ringer henne. ❌ (unidiomatic/wrong)

But you can say:

• Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant före samtalet. ✅
  (before the call)

Why do we repeat jag in innan jag ringer henne? Can I leave it out?

In Swedish, the subject pronoun is normally required in each clause. You can’t drop it like in Spanish or Italian.

So you need jag again in the subordinate clause:

• Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant innan jag ringer henne. ✅

Leaving it out would sound wrong:

• Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant innan ringer henne. ❌

Each clause—Jag vill läsa… and (innan) jag ringer henne—needs its own subject, even if it’s the same person.

Why is it henne and not hon?

Swedish has subject and object forms of personal pronouns:

• hon – she (subject form)
• henne – her (object form)

Use hon as the subject of a verb:

• Hon ringer mig. – She calls me.

Use henne as the object:

• Jag ringer henne. – I call her.
• Jag ser henne. – I see her.

In your sentence, “her” is the object of ringer, so it must be henne, not hon.

Do I need till here? Is innan jag ringer till henne also correct?

Both are used in Swedish:

• ringa någon – call someone
• ringa till någon – call to someone

So:

• innan jag ringer henne ✅
• innan jag ringer till henne ✅

Without till is very common and perfectly natural, especially in speech.
With till can sound a bit more explicit or formal, but the meaning is the same in this context.

Could I say Jag ska läsa meddelandet noggrant innan jag ringer henne instead of Jag vill läsa…? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, but the meaning changes slightly:

• Jag vill läsa meddelandet noggrant…

  • vill = want to
  • Focus on your desire/intention: you want to read it carefully.

• Jag ska läsa meddelandet noggrant…

  • ska = going to / will
  • Focus on a plan or obligation: you will (are going to) read it carefully; it sounds more decided.

Both are grammatically correct. Choose:

• vill if you want to stress what you want to do
• ska if you want to stress what you are going to / must do