Om vi börjar nu, hinner vi hem tidigt.

Om means if and introduces a condition.

So Om vi börjar nu is the if-clause:

• Om = if
• vi = we
• börjar = start / begin
• nu = now

This clause sets up the condition for what happens in the main clause:

• hinner vi hem tidigt = we’ll get home early / we’ll make it home early

Swedish often uses the present tense where English uses a future form.

So:

• Om vi börjar nu literally looks like If we start now
• but it can naturally mean If we start now in a future sense

You do not need ska here. In conditional sentences like this, Swedish usually just uses the present tense:

• Om du kommer imorgon, ses vi då.
  • If you come tomorrow, we’ll see each other then.

This is very normal Swedish.

Again, Swedish often expresses future meaning with the present tense, especially when the future is clear from context.

So:

• hinner vi hem tidigt literally looks like we have time/manage to get home early
• but in context it means we’ll get home early or we’ll make it home early

Swedish does have ways to express the future, such as ska or kommer att, but they are not required here.

Compare:

• Vi åker imorgon. = We’re leaving tomorrow.
• Om vi börjar nu, hinner vi hem tidigt. = If we start now, we’ll get home early.

This is because Swedish has V2 word order in main clauses.

In a normal main clause, the finite verb usually comes in the second position:

• Vi hinner hem tidigt.

But when a different element comes first — in this case the whole if-clause:

• Om vi börjar nu, ...

then the finite verb of the main clause must come before the subject:

• Om vi börjar nu, hinner vi hem tidigt.

So the order becomes:

1. initial element: Om vi börjar nu
2. finite verb: hinner
3. subject: vi

This inversion is one of the most important Swedish word-order patterns.

Hinna is a very common Swedish verb, but it does not translate neatly into just one English word.

It usually means something like:

• have enough time to
• manage to
• make it in time to

So hinner vi hem tidigt suggests:

• we have enough time to get home early
• we can make it home early
• we’ll get home early if we start now

A few examples:

• Jag hinner inte. = I don’t have time / I can’t make it.
• Hinner du äta innan mötet? = Do you have time to eat before the meeting?
• Vi hann tåget. = We caught the train in time.

So hinna is strongly connected to time being sufficient.

Because hinna is one of the Swedish verbs that is followed directly by an infinitive without att.

So:

• hinna hem
• hinna äta
• hinna läsa klart

not:

• hinna att hem
• hinna att äta

This is similar to some English patterns where you do not always use to after every verb, though the systems are not identical.

Other Swedish verbs that often take the infinitive without att include:

• kan
• ska
• vill
• måste
• börjar can take att or no att in some contexts, but hinna normally takes no att.

This is a very common Swedish distinction.

• hem = homeward, to home, going home
• hemma = at home

So:

• Vi går hem. = We’re going home.
• Vi är hemma. = We are at home.

In your sentence, the idea is movement toward home, so hem is correct:

• hinner vi hem tidigt = we’ll get home early / we’ll make it home early

Not:

• hinner vi hemma tidigt ❌

Tidigt is an adverb meaning early.

In this sentence, it naturally comes after hem:

• hinner vi hem tidigt

That order sounds very normal in Swedish.

You can think of it as:

• verb: hinner
• subject: vi
• destination: hem
• adverb: tidigt

Swedish adverb placement can vary depending on emphasis and sentence type, but here the end position is the most natural.

Not always.

In modern Swedish, the comma between an initial subordinate clause and the main clause is often optional, especially in short, clear sentences.

So both of these are acceptable:

• Om vi börjar nu, hinner vi hem tidigt.
• Om vi börjar nu hinner vi hem tidigt.

The version with the comma can make the structure easier to see for learners, but in everyday Swedish you will often see it omitted.

No, that is not correct in standard Swedish.

Once the sentence begins with the subordinate clause Om vi börjar nu, the main clause must follow normal Swedish V2 order:

• Om vi börjar nu, hinner vi hem tidigt. ✅

Not:

• Om vi börjar nu, vi hinner hem tidigt. ❌

This is one of the biggest differences from English, where you can say:

• If we start now, we’ll get home early.

In Swedish, the verb comes before the subject in the main clause after that fronted if-clause.

They have fairly specific roles here.

• börja = to begin / to start
• hinna = to have time to / manage to / make it in time

So the sentence is built around two separate ideas:

1. starting now
2. therefore having enough time to get home early

That distinction is important:

• börjar nu = start now
• hinner hem tidigt = make it home early / have time to get home early

Usually nu stays naturally in the first clause:

• Om vi börjar nu, hinner vi hem tidigt.

That is the most neutral version.

You might move elements around in speech for emphasis, but for a learner this is the best pattern to use:

• Om + subject + verb + nu, main clause

So:

• Om vi börjar nu, hinner vi hem tidigt. ✅

Trying to move nu into the second clause would usually change the meaning or sound unnatural in this context.

Very roughly, a word-for-word breakdown is:

• Om = if
• vi = we
• börjar = start / begin
• nu = now
• hinner = have time / manage
• vi = we
• hem = home
• tidigt = early

So a very literal version would be:

• If we start now, manage we home early

Of course that is not natural English, but it helps show the structure.

A more natural English translation is:

• If we start now, we’ll get home early.
• If we start now, we can make it home early.

Both capture the meaning well.