Jag åker buss till jobbet när bilen är trasig.

In Swedish, åka is commonly used for travelling by vehicle or going somewhere by some form of transport.

So:

• Jag åker buss = I go by bus / I take the bus
• Jag går usually means I walk
• Jag reser means I travel, but it often sounds broader or more like longer-distance travel

In this sentence, åker is the natural verb because the speaker is using a bus as transportation.

In Swedish, when talking about a means of transport in a general way, you often leave out the article.

So Swedish says:

• åka buss = go by bus / take the bus
• åka tåg = go by train
• åka bil = go by car

English usually needs a different structure, like by bus or take the bus, but Swedish does not need en or bussen here.

Jobbet is the definite form of jobbet's base noun jobb, and it means the job/work. In the expression till jobbet, Swedish often means to work in the everyday sense.

So:

• jobb = job / work
• jobbet = the job / work

In idiomatic Swedish, till jobbet is very common and natural, just like English to work.

Arbete also means work, but it is usually more formal or abstract. In everyday speech, jobbet is much more common.

This is one of those places where Swedish and English structure things differently.

Swedish often uses the definite form in expressions where English does not. So:

• till jobbet = to work
• på jobbet = at work
• från jobbet = from work

Even though English does not say to the work, Swedish naturally uses jobbet in these common expressions.

Here, när means when, but in context it can feel close to whenever.

So the sentence means something like:

• I take the bus to work when the car is broken.
• I take the bus to work whenever the car is broken.

Swedish när is used for situations that actually happen or are expected to happen. If you wanted a more hypothetical if, Swedish would often use om instead.

Usually, när is better in this sentence.

• när bilen är trasig = when/whenever the car is broken
• om bilen är trasig = if the car is broken

När suggests a repeated or real situation: each time the car is broken, I take the bus.

Om would make it sound more conditional or uncertain, as if you are considering a possibility rather than describing a usual pattern.

This is normal Swedish main-clause word order:

• Jag = subject
• åker = verb
• buss = part of the expression åka buss
• till jobbet = destination
• när bilen är trasig = time clause

In a Swedish main clause, the finite verb usually comes in the second position. That is why åker comes right after Jag.

Because adjectives in Swedish agree with the noun.

• bil is a common gender noun (an en-word: en bil)
• with a common gender singular noun, the adjective takes the basic form: trasig

So:

• bilen är trasig = the car is broken

You would use trasigt with a neuter noun:

• huset är trasigt = the house is broken

Bilen means the car. In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a specific car, probably their own or one already known in context.

So:

• bil = car
• bilen = the car

If you said när en bil är trasig, that would mean when a car is broken, which sounds much less natural here because it is not referring to some random car.

Trasig literally means broken, and it is most commonly used for objects or things that do not work properly:

• Bilen är trasig = The car is broken
• Telefonen är trasig = The phone is broken

It can also be used figuratively about a person, but then it means something more like emotionally damaged or messed up, and that is a stronger, more personal use.

Swedish often uses the present tense to describe:

• what is happening now
• regular habits
• general truths

So Jag åker buss till jobbet när bilen är trasig can mean a repeated habit:

• I take the bus to work when the car is broken.

This is very similar to English, which also uses the present tense for habits.

Yes, absolutely. That is also natural Swedish.

There is a small difference in feel:

• Jag åker buss focuses on the means of transport: I go by bus
• Jag tar bussen focuses more on taking the bus as a choice or action

Both are common and correct here.

Swedish often expresses ideas more directly with a main verb and does not need helping words in the same way English does.

For example:

• Jag åker buss = I go by bus / I take the bus
• bilen är trasig = the car is broken

There is no extra do-type word needed. Swedish usually prefers a simpler verb structure.

Yes. You can also say:

• När bilen är trasig åker jag buss till jobbet.

That means the same thing.

But if the när clause comes first, Swedish changes the word order in the main clause:

• När bilen är trasig, åker jag ...

The verb åker must still come in second position in the main clause, so you get åker jag, not jag åker.

They are related, but not always used in exactly the same way.

• jobb = job / work, very common in everyday speech
• arbete = work / labor, often more formal or abstract

In daily conversation, Swedish speakers often prefer jobb:

• Jag går till jobbet
• Jag är på jobbet

So in this sentence, jobbet sounds natural and everyday.