Nu har vi en hiss, och Sara brukar bära väskorna själv.

Because Swedish is a V2 language in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

So when Nu is placed first, the verb har must come next:

• Nu har vi en hiss.
• not Nu vi har en hiss

Compare:

• Vi har en hiss nu.
• Nu har vi en hiss.

Both are correct, but the word order changes because of the V2 rule.

Nu means now. In this sentence, it introduces the current situation:

• Nu har vi en hiss = Now we have an elevator

It often suggests a contrast with the past, as in before, we didn’t have one, but now we do.

Swedish usually needs an article with a singular countable noun, just like English.

So:

• en hiss = an elevator
• hiss by itself would usually not work here

Hiss is a common-gender noun, so it takes en, not ett.

It means both. The difference is just the variety of English:

• in American English: elevator
• in British English: lift

So en hiss can be translated either way.

Brukar means something like:

• usually
• tends to
• is in the habit of

So:

• Sara brukar bära väskorna själv
  = Sara usually carries the bags herself

It describes a habit or something that happens regularly, not just once.

After brukar, Swedish normally uses the infinitive without att.

So you say:

• brukar bära
• brukar läsa
• brukar komma

not:

• brukar att bära

This is similar to English usually carries or tends to carry, where no extra word like to appears after usually.

Because brukar is the conjugated verb, and the next verb stays in the infinitive.

• brukar = finite verb
• bära = infinitive

Compare:

• Sara bär väskorna själv. = Sara carries the bags herself.
• Sara brukar bära väskorna själv. = Sara usually carries the bags herself.

So after brukar, you use bära, not bär.

Yes. Bära can mean both, depending on context.

Examples:

• bära väskor = carry bags
• bära en jacka = wear a jacket

In this sentence, because the object is väskorna (the bags), the meaning is clearly carry.

Väskorna is the definite plural form, meaning the bags.

Forms of väska:

• en väska = a bag
• väskan = the bag
• väskor = bags
• väskorna = the bags

So the sentence refers to specific bags, not just bags in general.

It comes from the noun väska.

Step by step:

• singular indefinite: en väska
• plural indefinite: väskor
• plural definite: väskorna

The ending -na marks the definite plural here.

This is a very common Swedish pattern for en-words ending in -a:

• flicka → flickor → flickorna
• väska → väskor → väskorna

Here själv means herself.

So:

• Sara brukar bära väskorna själv
  = Sara usually carries the bags herself

It emphasizes that Sara does it personally, without someone else doing it for her.

Because själv and ensam are different.

• själv = oneself / personally
• ensam = alone

So:

• Sara bär väskorna själv = Sara carries the bags herself
• Sara bär väskorna ensam = Sara carries the bags alone

The first emphasizes who does it.
The second emphasizes that she is alone.

Sometimes both ideas can overlap, but they are not the same word.

That is a very natural position in Swedish when it means herself / himself / myself for emphasis.

• Sara brukar bära väskorna själv

Putting själv near the end makes the emphasis clear: Sara herself does it.

Swedish often places this kind of emphasis late in the clause.

Because och means and, and it simply links two clauses. It does not trigger inversion by itself.

So the second clause keeps normal main-clause order:

• och Sara brukar bära väskorna själv

That is:

• subject: Sara
• verb: brukar

Compare with an adverb placed first, which would trigger inversion:

• Nu brukar Sara bära väskorna själv.

Here Nu is first, so brukar comes before Sara.

The sentence uses the present tense, but in two slightly different ways:

• Nu har vi en hiss = present situation right now
• Sara brukar bära väskorna själv = present habit / usual behavior

So one part describes a current fact, and the other describes something that usually happens.

A rough guide is something like hyelv or shyelv, depending on accent, but no English spelling matches it perfectly.

A few points:

• sj in Swedish is a difficult sound for English speakers
• ä is like a short e sound, somewhat like the e in bed, but not exactly
• lv at the end is pronounced clearly

If you are learning pronunciation, själv is definitely one of those words worth listening to from native audio.

A rough guide is BEH-ra.

Helpful points:

• ä sounds somewhat like the e in bed
• the stress is on the first syllable: BÄ-ra
• the r is pronounced in the Swedish way, which varies by region

So although bära is often spelled-looking unfamiliar to English speakers, it is not too hard once you hear it a few times.

In this sentence it means we have, not a question.

Even though the word order is literally have we, Swedish main clauses often move the verb before the subject because of the V2 rule.

So:

• Nu har vi en hiss = Now we have an elevator

It is not a question because the sentence has normal statement intonation and structure in Swedish.

Yes. That would mean:

• Sara carries the bags herself

The difference is:

• Sara bär väskorna själv = a plain statement, possibly about now
• Sara brukar bära väskorna själv = this is her usual habit

So brukar adds the idea of usually or normally.