Vi behöver en skruv till stolen.

No—Swedish normally needs an explicit subject in a full sentence.

So Vi behöver en skruv till stolen literally has the structure:

• Vi = we
• behöver = need
• en skruv = a screw
• till stolen = for the chair

Unlike languages that can leave out we, Swedish usually says it.

Behöva is the infinitive, meaning to need.

In the sentence, the verb is being used in the present tense, so it becomes behöver:

• att behöva = to need
• jag behöver = I need
• vi behöver = we need

Swedish present tense verbs do not change for different persons, so the same form works with jag, du, vi, de, etc.:

• jag behöver
• du behöver
• vi behöver

Because skruv is an en-word in Swedish.

Swedish nouns have two grammatical genders:

• en words
• ett words

So:

• en skruv = a screw
• skruven = the screw

You simply have to learn each noun with en or ett. There is not always a reliable rule from meaning alone.

En is the indefinite article, like a/an in English.

So:

• en skruv = a screw
• skruven = the screw

In this sentence, it means one unspecified screw, not a particular already-known screw.

Here till means something like for or for use with.

So en skruv till stolen means:

• a screw for the chair
• a screw that belongs to / goes with the chair

This is a very common use of till in Swedish when talking about parts, accessories, or things connected to something else.

Examples:

• en nyckel till bilen = a key for the car
• ett lock till burken = a lid for the jar

So till does not always mean physical movement to.

Because stolen means the chair, referring to a specific chair.

Compare:

• en stol = a chair
• stolen = the chair

In Vi behöver en skruv till stolen, the idea is that there is a particular chair already being talked about or understood from the situation.

In Swedish, the definite article is often added as a suffix to the noun.

So:

• en stol = a chair
• stolen = the chair

This is one of the big differences from English. Instead of putting the before the noun, Swedish often adds the definiteness to the end.

More examples:

• en bok = a book

• boken = the book

• ett hus = a house
• huset = the house

Sometimes för can be translated as for, but in this kind of sentence, till is the more natural choice.

Till is commonly used for something that belongs to, fits, or is intended for something:

• en skruv till stolen
• en reservdel till bilen
• en nyckel till dörren

Using för here may sound less natural or may shift the nuance slightly. For a learner, till is the safer and more idiomatic choice in this sentence.

The sentence follows normal Swedish main-clause word order:

• Vi = subject
• behöver = verb
• en skruv = object
• till stolen = prepositional phrase

So:

Subject + Verb + Object + Prepositional phrase

This is very similar to English:

We + need + a screw + for the chair

It mainly describes skruv.

The meaning is not just we need in general, but specifically:

• a screw for the chair

So till stolen tells you what kind of screw is needed—one that belongs to or fits the chair.

Yes, skruv can have related meanings in Swedish, just like screw in English.

But in this sentence, because of en skruv till stolen, it clearly means the physical object: a screw used as a fastener.

Context makes that clear.

A rough pronunciation guide would be:

vee beh-HUR-ver en skroov till STOO-len

A few notes:

• Vi sounds like vee
• behöver has a rounded vowel in hö, which does not exist exactly in English
• skruv begins with skr-, much like English screw
• stolen has stress on the first syllable: STO-len

If you want to sound more natural, listening to native audio is especially helpful for ö in behöver.

A very literal breakdown is:

• Vi = we
• behöver = need
• en = a
• skruv = screw
• till = for / to
• stolen = the chair

So literally:

We need a screw for the chair

That literal structure matches English quite closely, except that Swedish uses till where English would usually say for in this context.