Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hon har ofta ont i ryggen eftersom hon sitter mycket, men hon försöker ändå le. - She often has pain in her back because she sits a lot, but she still tries to smile.

Hon har ont i ryggen = She has pain in her back → She has back pain / Her back hurts.
You cannot say hon är ont (that would mean she is evil; ond/ont = evil).
gör ont is used in a different structure:
- Ryggen gör ont. = The back hurts.
- Det gör ont. = It hurts.

So:

Hon har ont i ryggen. (She has back pain.)
Ryggen gör ont. (Her back is hurting / The back hurts.)

Both are correct Swedish, just different patterns. The sentence uses the very common ha ont i + body part pattern.

Why do we say ont i ryggen and not just one word like ryggont?

Both exist, but they’re used slightly differently:

ont i ryggen = literally pain in the back; this is the most common everyday way to talk about back pain.
- Hon har ofta ont i ryggen.
ryggont = a noun meaning back pain; often a bit more compact or slightly more formal/medical-sounding.
- Hon lider av ryggont. = She suffers from back pain.

In speech, ont i ryggen is much more frequent, especially in a full sentence about how someone feels.

Why is it i ryggen and not på ryggen?

Prepositions with body parts in Swedish often don’t match English directly.

ont i ryggen = pain in the back
- i signals pain in that body region (inside / within).
på ryggen usually refers to on the surface of the back:
- Jag har ett sår på ryggen. = I have a wound on my back.
- Hon bär ryggsäcken på ryggen. = She carries the backpack on her back.

So:

Internal pain → ont i ryggen
Something lying on / touching the surface → på ryggen

Why is the word order Hon har ofta ont i ryggen and not Hon ofta har ont i ryggen?

Swedish main clauses follow a V2 word order: the finite verb (here: har) must come in second position in the sentence.

Hon (subject) = position 1
har (finite verb) = position 2
ofta (adverb) = position 3
ont i ryggen (rest of the predicate)

So Hon har ofta ont i ryggen is correct.

Hon ofta har ont i ryggen breaks the V2 rule (the verb is not in second place), so it sounds wrong in standard Swedish.

What exactly does ofta mean here, and where can it go in the sentence?

ofta = often / frequently.

Typical positions:

After the finite verb in a main clause:
- Hon har ofta ont i ryggen. (most natural)
At the beginning for emphasis:
- Ofta har hon ont i ryggen. = She often has back pain (emphasizing often).

You generally don’t put ofta between subject and verb in a main clause:

❌ Hon ofta har ont i ryggen. (ungrammatical in standard Swedish)

So it works much like English often, but you must respect Swedish V2 word order.

What does eftersom mean, and how is it different from för att or så?

In this sentence:

eftersom = because / since (introduces a reason clause)

Hon har ofta ont i ryggen eftersom hon sitter mycket
= She often has back pain because she sits a lot.

Comparison:

eftersom – “because”, often neutral or explanatory:
- Jag stannar hemma eftersom jag är sjuk.
för att – “in order to” (purpose) or “because” (colloquial):
- Purpose: Jag tränar för att bli stark. = I exercise to become strong.
- Casual “because”: Jag är trött, för att jag sov dåligt.
så – “so / therefore”, starts a new main clause:
- Hon sitter mycket, så hon har ofta ont i ryggen.
  = She sits a lot, so she often has back pain.

In the given sentence, eftersom clearly marks a reason.

Why is there no comma before eftersom, but there is one before men?

Swedish comma rules distinguish between coordinating and subordinating conjunctions:

men is a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, etc.) that connects two main clauses:
- Hon har ofta ont i ryggen … , men hon försöker ändå le.
  Two complete clauses → comma is standard (though some writers omit it in informal text).
eftersom is a subordinating conjunction introducing a subordinate clause:
- … ont i ryggen eftersom hon sitter mycket …
- Modern Swedish normally does not use a comma before eftersom when it follows the main clause.

So:

Comma before men (between main clauses) ✔
No comma before eftersom (subordinate clause) ✔

What does sitter mycket mean? Is she just “sitting a lot”, or is there some other nuance?

sitter mycket means sits a lot / spends a lot of time sitting.

It usually refers to a sedentary lifestyle or job (desk work, office work, a lot of studying, gaming, etc.).
mycket here means a lot / a great deal, referring to the amount of time she spends sitting.

You could rephrase:

Hon sitter ner mycket. (also possible, but ner is often omitted)
Hon sitter stilla mycket. = She sits still a lot.

In everyday Swedish, simply sitter mycket is very natural to mean is sitting for long periods of time.

What does ändå add to the meaning in hon försöker ändå le?

ändå roughly means “still / anyway / despite that”.

Hon försöker ändå le.
= She still tries to smile / She tries to smile anyway (in spite of everything).

It signals a contrast with what came before:

She has back pain and sits too much (negative situation),
ändå → in spite of that, she makes an effort to smile.

So it adds a sense of determination or concession.

Why is it försöker ändå le and not försöker att le or försöker le ändå?

försöker le vs försöker att le
- With försöka, you can use the infinitive with or without att:
  - Hon försöker le.
  - Hon försöker att le.
- Without att is more common and feels a bit more natural in everyday speech.
- With att can sound slightly more formal or careful.
Position of ändå
- Hon försöker ändå le. (very natural)
- Hon försöker le ändå. (also possible)
- Subtle nuance:
  - försöker ändå le often emphasizes the trying despite difficulties.
  - försöker le ändå can be heard as she tries to smile, at least / in the end anyway—the focus can feel more on the smiling itself.

Grammatically, both word orders with ändå are okay; the sentence simply chose a very common pattern.

Why is the pronoun hon repeated three times instead of being dropped sometimes?

Swedish is not a “pro‑drop” language like Spanish or Italian. You must include the subject pronoun in each clause:

Hon har ofta ont i ryggen eftersom hon sitter mycket, men hon försöker ändå le.

You cannot omit hon in the second and third clauses:

❌ Hon har ofta ont i ryggen eftersom sitter mycket, men försöker ändå le.

Every finite verb in a clause normally needs an explicit subject (unless you use impersonal det or passive forms). Repeating hon is completely normal and expected.

Why is everything in the present tense (har, sitter, försöker) even though it describes an ongoing situation?

Swedish uses the simple present for:

Current states:
- Hon har ofta ont i ryggen. = She often has back pain (these days / habitually).
Habits and repeated actions:
- hon sitter mycket = she sits a lot (as a habit).
General, ongoing situations:
- hon försöker ändå le = she tries (is trying) to smile.

In English, you might alternate between simple present and present continuous:

She often has back pain because she sits a lot, but she still tries to smile.

In Swedish, the plain present form covers both ideas (she does and she is doing). There is a progressive form (e.g. håller på att sitta), but it’s used much less and would be odd here.

Is le only “to smile with the mouth”, or does it include “laugh” as well?

le specifically means “to smile” (a quieter facial expression).

Hon försöker ändå le. = She still tries to smile.

“Laugh” is normally:

skratta = to laugh
- Hon försöker ändå skratta. = She still tries to laugh.

So:

le → smile
skratta → laugh

In English, “smile” and “laugh” are clearly different; Swedish mirrors that distinction with le vs skratta.