Kan du lyfta stolen lite, så att jag kan städa under den?

Kan du ... literally means Can you ...?, but in Swedish it is very commonly used to make a polite request, just like in English.

So:

• Lyft stolen! = Lift the chair!
  This is more direct.
• Kan du lyfta stolen lite ...? = Can you lift the chair a little ...?
  This sounds more polite and natural in everyday speech.

A native English speaker can think of it the same way as the difference between Lift the chair and Can you lift the chair?

Lyfta means to lift or to raise.

In this sentence, it means physically lifting the chair up a bit so someone can clean underneath it.

It is different from some similar Swedish verbs:

• lyfta = lift, raise
• flytta = move something from one place to another
• höja = raise, increase, elevate, often in a more abstract or formal sense

So lyfta stolen is correct because the idea is to lift the chair upward, not just move it somewhere else.

Because Swedish is using the definite form here: the chair, not a chair.

• en stol = a chair
• stolen = the chair

The speaker is talking about a specific chair, the one that needs to be lifted.

This is very common in Swedish: instead of using a separate word like the, Swedish usually adds the definiteness to the end of the noun.

Stol is an en-word in Swedish:

• en stol = a chair
• stolen = the chair

The ending -en is the definite ending for many common-gender nouns.

So the structure is:

• base noun: stol
• definite singular ending: -en
• result: stolen

This is one of the first big differences from English, where definiteness is usually shown with a separate word: the chair.

Lite means a little, a bit, or slightly.

In this sentence, it softens the request and also shows that the chair does not need to be lifted very much:

• Kan du lyfta stolen? = Can you lift the chair?
• Kan du lyfta stolen lite? = Can you lift the chair a little / a bit?

So lite has two effects here:

1. It describes the amount: only a small lift is needed.
2. It makes the request sound gentler and more natural.

Så att means so that.

It introduces the purpose or result of the first action:

• Kan du lyfta stolen lite = Can you lift the chair a little
• så att jag kan städa under den = so that I can clean under it

Together, the sentence means that lifting the chair is necessary in order for the speaker to clean under it.

In everyday Swedish, people sometimes shorten this in speech and say just så:

• Kan du lyfta stolen lite så jag kan städa under den?

That is common and natural in conversation, but så att is clearer and more explicit.

Because så att introduces a subordinate clause.

In Swedish, main clauses usually follow the verb-second rule, but subordinate clauses do not. In a subordinate clause, the subject normally comes before the finite verb.

So:

• main clause: Jag kan städa = I can clean
• after så att: så att jag kan städa = so that I can clean

Not:

• så att kan jag städa ❌

This is an important Swedish grammar pattern. After words like att, eftersom, när, om, så att, the clause usually has subordinate clause word order.

Den means it, referring back to stolen.

Since stol is an en-word, the correct pronoun is den:

• en stol → den
• ett bord → det

So:

• under den = under it
• here it = the chair

A learner may expect the noun to be repeated, but Swedish often uses a pronoun just like English does:

• under stolen = under the chair
• under den = under it

Both are possible depending on context, but under den sounds natural because the chair has just been mentioned.

Because the noun stol is an en-word, not an ett-word.

In Swedish singular pronouns:

• den is used for en-words
• det is used for ett-words

Examples:

• en stol → den
• en bil → den
• ett bord → det
• ett hus → det

So since stolen comes from en stol, the correct pronoun is den.

Yes, you could.

• ... städa under den = ... clean under it
• ... städa under stolen = ... clean under the chair

Both are grammatically correct.

However, under den is often more natural because the chair has already been mentioned. Repeating the noun can sound a bit heavier, though it is not wrong.

English works similarly:

• Lift the chair so I can clean under it is usually more natural than
• Lift the chair so I can clean under the chair

Städa means to clean up, to tidy, or to do cleaning.

In this sentence, städa under den means clean under it. The idea is not just a quick wipe; städa often suggests general cleaning or tidying.

A learner may compare it with:

• städa = clean/tidy up in a general sense
• rengöra = clean in a more technical sense, make something actually clean
• dammsuga = vacuum

Here städa is the normal everyday verb.

The comma is possible and helps readability, especially in writing, because the sentence has two clauses:

• Kan du lyfta stolen lite
• så att jag kan städa under den?

In modern Swedish, comma usage is often lighter than in English, so you may also see the sentence without a comma:

• Kan du lyfta stolen lite så att jag kan städa under den?

Both are acceptable in many contexts. The version with the comma simply makes the structure a little clearer.

Yes, it sounds natural and polite.

A very everyday spoken version might be:

• Kan du lyfta stolen lite så jag kan städa under den?

That version drops att, which is common in speech.

The original sentence with så att is still perfectly natural, especially in careful speech or writing. So as a learner, it is a very good sentence to use.