Hon brukade vara rädd för att åka hiss, men nu tänker hon inte på det.

Brukade is the past tense of bruka when it is used to mean used to.

So Hon brukade vara rädd ... means She used to be afraid ...

A few useful points:

• bruka + infinitive = used to + base verb
• brukade vara = used to be
• It describes a past habit or past state that is no longer true, or is at least being contrasted with the present.

That fits well with men nu ... = but now ...

Because after brukade, Swedish uses the infinitive form of the main verb.

So:

• brukade vara = used to be
• not brukade var

This is similar to English:

• used to be
• not used to was

So brukade works like a helper verb here, and the next verb stays in the infinitive.

Because rädd agrees with the subject.

Here the subject is hon = she, which is a common gender singular reference, so the adjective form is:

• rädd

Compare:

• Hon är rädd = She is afraid
• Barnet är rädd = The child is afraid
• De är rädda = They are afraid

So rädda would be used for plural, not for hon.

Yes. In this sentence, rädd för att åka hiss means afraid of riding/taking the elevator.

Break it down like this:

• rädd för = afraid of
• att åka = to ride / to go by
• hiss = elevator

So the pattern is:

• vara rädd för att + infinitive

Examples:

• Jag är rädd för att flyga = I am afraid of flying
• Hon är rädd för att tala inför folk = She is afraid of speaking in front of people

Important: this is not the same as the för att meaning in order to. Here it belongs with rädd för and introduces what the person is afraid of doing.

In Swedish, åka hiss is a very natural way to say ride/take the elevator.

The verb åka often means traveling or going by some form of transport, and Swedish uses it in many expressions where English often says take:

• åka buss = take the bus
• åka tåg = take the train
• åka hiss = take/ride the elevator

You may also hear other possibilities in some contexts, but åka hiss is standard and idiomatic.

Because in Swedish, certain activity expressions often use a bare noun with no article.

So:

• åka hiss
• köra bil
• spela piano

This sounds more like talking about the activity in general.

If you said åka hissen, it would sound more like take the elevator referring to a specific elevator in the situation. That can be possible in context, but åka hiss is the normal general expression.

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

Here, nu comes first, so the verb must come second:

• Nu tänker hon inte på det

Pattern:

• first element: nu
• second element: tänker
• then subject: hon

This is a very common Swedish word order rule.

Compare:

• Hon tänker inte på det nu
• Nu tänker hon inte på det

Both are possible, but when nu is moved to the front, the verb must come before the subject.

Because in a main clause, inte usually comes after the finite verb and usually after the subject if the subject follows the verb.

In this sentence:

• Nu = first position
• tänker = finite verb in second position
• hon = subject
• inte = negation

So the order is:

• Nu tänker hon inte på det

Compare:

• Hon tänker inte på det
• Nu tänker hon inte på det

This is normal Swedish main-clause placement for inte.

Tänka på means think about or have in mind.

So:

• tänker på det = thinks about it

In Swedish, many verbs combine naturally with a preposition, and that preposition must usually be learned together with the verb.

Examples:

• tänka på = think about
• lyssna på = listen to
• vänta på = wait for

So it is best to learn tänka på as a unit, not just tänka by itself.

Det refers back to the earlier idea: her fear of riding the elevator, or the whole issue of elevators.

So hon tänker inte på det means she does not think about that anymore.

In Swedish, det often refers to:

• a whole situation
• an idea just mentioned
• something abstract

That is why det works well here instead of repeating the whole phrase.

Yes, but using det is much more natural here.

For example, Swedish could say something like:

• ... men nu tänker hon inte på att åka hiss längre

That is possible, but in many normal contexts, using det is smoother and less repetitive:

• ... men nu tänker hon inte på det

So det helps avoid repeating the entire idea.

Men means but and connects two contrasting ideas:

• past: Hon brukade vara rädd för att åka hiss
• present: men nu tänker hon inte på det

So it marks a change or contrast between how things were before and how they are now.

It works very much like English but.

Yes. A learner might expect something like:

• Hon tänker inte på det längre

That means She doesn’t think about it anymore.

With nu, the sentence already shows a contrast with the past:

• men nu tänker hon inte på det

Adding längre is also possible in many contexts, but it is not necessary. The original sentence is already clear because brukade and nu strongly show the time contrast.

Yes, hiss is the standard Swedish word for elevator/lift.

A useful note for English speakers:

• American English: elevator
• British English: lift
• Swedish: hiss

So åka hiss can match either take the elevator or take the lift, depending on your variety of English.