Hon säger att hon inte kan betala fakturan förrän banken skickar ett nytt bankkort.

She says that she cannot pay the invoice until the bank sends a new debit card.

Breakdown of Hon säger att hon inte kan betala fakturan förrän banken skickar ett nytt bankkort.

• ett: a
• kunna: can
• hon: she
• inte: not
• ny: new
• att: that
• skicka: to send
• säga: to say
• betala: to pay
• förrän: until
• banken: the bank
• fakturan: the invoice
• bankkortet: the debit card

Questions & Answers about Hon säger att hon inte kan betala fakturan förrän banken skickar ett nytt bankkort.

Why is att used after säger?

att is the conjunction that introducing a subordinate clause: Hon säger att … = She says that ….
In careful Swedish it’s normally included after verbs like säga. In informal speech, people sometimes drop it (especially in short sentences), but writing att is the safe default.

Why does Swedish repeat hon (twice) instead of saying it once?

Because there are two separate clauses, and each clause needs its own subject:

• Main clause: Hon säger … (subject = hon)
• Subordinate clause: … att hon inte kan … (subject = hon again)

English can’t avoid repeating it either here: She says that she ….

Why is the word order att hon inte kan betala… and not att hon kan inte betala…?

In a subordinate clause (introduced by att, som, när, etc.), Swedish typically places sentence adverbs like inte before the finite verb:

• Subordinate clause: … att hon inte kan betala … In a main clause, inte usually comes after the finite verb:
• Main clause: Hon kan inte betala fakturan.

So the “switch” is a key main-clause vs subordinate-clause word order difference.

Why is there no att before betala after kan?

After modal verbs like kan, ska, vill, måste, Swedish uses a bare infinitive (no att):

• kan betala = can pay You’d use att with many other verb patterns, but not after modals.

Does kan here mean “know how to” or “be able to”?

In this context it’s be able to / can (ability/possibility), not “know how to.”
Hon kan inte betala fakturan = she isn’t able to pay the invoice (for example because she lacks the bank card/payment method).

Why is fakturan definite (the invoice) and not en faktura (an invoice)?

fakturan is the definite form: the invoice—a specific invoice already known from context.
If it were just any invoice (not identified), you’d say en faktura.

Why is banken also definite (the bank)?

banken means the bank, typically understood as “her bank” or a specific bank already known in context. Swedish often uses the definite form when the referent is assumed identifiable.

If you meant “a bank (some bank),” you’d say en bank.

Why does it say förrän and not innan or tills for “until”?

förrän is commonly used after a negative or limiting expression like inte:

• inte … förrän … = not … until …

If the main clause is positive, Swedish more often uses tills:

• Hon väntar tills banken skickar … = She waits until the bank sends …

innan usually means before (and doesn’t automatically carry the “not until” meaning).

Is förrän always tied to a negation like inte?

Very often, yes. The classic pattern is inte … förrän ….
Without a negation, förrän is much less common and can sound off to learners; tills is usually the better “until” in positive statements.

Why is skickar present tense when the bank will send it in the future?

Swedish commonly uses present tense in subordinate time clauses to refer to the future, just like English does in “until the bank sends…” (not “will send”):

• … förrän banken skickar … = … until the bank sends …

So skickar is present form but future meaning is understood from context.

Why is it ett nytt bankkort and not det nya bankkortet?

ett nytt bankkort = a new bank card (indefinite: not yet identified as a specific, already-known item).
If you were referring to a particular known replacement card (e.g., “the new card we talked about”), you could use the definite form: det nya bankkortet.

Also, bankkort is a neuter noun, so it uses ett.

What’s going on with the compound noun bankkort?

bankkort is a compound: bank + kort = “bank card.”
Swedish forms these very freely, and they’re usually written as one word. The gender comes from the final noun (kort, which is neuter → ett kort, ett bankkort).