Hon gick åt fel håll och svängde höger i stället för vänster.

Gick is the past tense of gå.

A learner often first meets gå as to walk, but in many contexts it also corresponds to English to go. In this sentence, Hon gick åt fel håll can be understood as She went/walked in the wrong direction.

So:

• gå = to go / to walk
• gick = went / walked

Literally:

• åt = toward
• fel = wrong
• håll = direction / way / side

So åt fel håll is literally something like toward the wrong direction, but natural English is in the wrong direction or the wrong way.

The word åt is used in Swedish to show direction of movement. That is why it fits well with gick here.

Compare:

• gå åt vänster = go to the left
• gå åt fel håll = go the wrong way

Both can work, but fel håll is a very common, natural expression in everyday Swedish.

• åt fel håll = the wrong way / in the wrong direction
• i fel riktning = in the wrong direction

The version with håll often sounds a bit more idiomatic and conversational in sentences about physical movement.

In expressions like this, fel is normally used unchanged before the noun.

So Swedish says:

• fel person = the wrong person
• fel väg = the wrong road
• fel håll = the wrong direction

You do not say fela håll here. This is a common pattern with fel when it means wrong/incorrect before a noun.

Because the subject is the same in both parts of the sentence, Swedish often leaves it out in the second clause.

So:

• Hon gick åt fel håll och svängde höger ...

is a natural way to say:

• She went the wrong way and turned right ...

You could repeat the subject:

• Hon gick åt fel håll och hon svängde höger ...

but that is usually less smooth unless you want extra emphasis or clarity.

Both are possible.

• svängde höger = turned right
• svängde till höger = turned to the right

Without till, the sentence is a bit shorter and very natural, especially in spoken or straightforward narrative Swedish. With till, it can sound slightly fuller or more explicit.

So this is not a major grammar difference; it is mostly a matter of idiomatic phrasing and style.

Here, höger functions like a direction word, similar to an adverb in English.

In svängde höger, it means rightward / to the right.

The same applies to vänster in the phrase i stället för vänster: it refers to the direction left, not to a specific object called the left.

So in this sentence:

• svängde höger = turned right
• i stället för vänster = instead of left

I stället för is a fixed expression meaning instead of.

Literally, it is close to in the place of, but you should learn it as one unit:

• i stället för = instead of

In this sentence:

• svängde höger i stället för vänster
• turned right instead of left

You will also sometimes see the spelling istället för. That is also accepted.

Because vänster here is just naming a direction, not a specific noun phrase like the left turn or the left side.

After verbs of movement and direction expressions, Swedish often uses bare direction words:

• svänga höger
• svänga vänster
• gå vänster
• gå åt höger

So i stället för vänster means instead of left, where left is understood as the intended direction or turn.

The sentence is in the simple past.

• gick = went
• svängde = turned

Swedish often uses the simple past in storytelling and straightforward narration, just as English does:

• Hon gick åt fel håll och svängde höger i stället för vänster.
• She went the wrong way and turned right instead of left.

Because Swedish main clauses normally follow the V2 rule, which means the finite verb comes in the second position.

Here:

1. Hon = first element
2. gick = finite verb in second position

Then the rest follows:

• åt fel håll

So the normal order is:

• Hon gick åt fel håll

You can move other parts to the front for emphasis, but then the verb still stays second:

• Åt fel håll gick hon

That version is possible, but much less neutral. The original sentence has the standard, natural word order.