Barnet håller handen framför munnen när hon hostar.

Barn means child in the indefinite form.

• ett barn = a child
• barnet = the child

So -et is the definite ending for this neuter noun. Swedish usually adds definiteness as a suffix, instead of using a separate word like the.

Because the sentence is talking about a specific child, it uses barnet.

Yes. Barn is an ett-word in Swedish:

• ett barn = a child
• barnet = the child

This is grammatical gender, not biological sex. So even if the child is a girl, the noun barn is still grammatically neuter.

That is why the definite form is barnet, not barnen or something else.

Because grammatical gender and natural gender are not always the same thing.

• barnet is grammatically neuter
• hon tells us the child is female

In Swedish, when talking about a person, pronouns often follow the person’s real-world sex or identity rather than the noun’s grammatical gender. So it is completely normal to say:

• Barnet ... hon ... if the child is a girl
• Barnet ... han ... if the child is a boy

If the speaker does not want to specify sex, they might use det in some contexts for very small children, or hen in modern Swedish, depending on style and situation.

This is a very common Swedish pattern with body parts.

Swedish often uses the definite form of the body part instead of a possessive word when it is already clear whose body part it is.

So:

• hon tvättar händerna = literally she washes the hands, but meaning she washes her hands
• han öppnar munnen = literally he opens the mouth, but meaning he opens his mouth

In your sentence:

• håller handen framför munnen

naturally means holds her hand in front of her mouth, because the context already makes that clear.

Using sin hand or sin mun is possible in some contexts, but it is often less natural here unless you are emphasizing ownership or contrast.

You could, but it changes the feel.

• handen framför munnen is the normal, idiomatic Swedish way here
• hennes hand framför hennes mun sounds more explicit and less natural unless you need emphasis

You might use hennes if you want to contrast with someone else:

• Inte hans hand, utan hennes hand
• She covers his mouth with her hand

But in a simple sentence about what the child does, Swedish prefers the definite body-part form.

Håller is the present tense of hålla.

• att hålla = to hold / keep
• håller = holds / is holding

So:

• Barnet håller handen framför munnen = The child holds her hand in front of her mouth

This is the normal present-tense form for an -a verb:

• tala → talar
• hosta → hostar
• hålla → håller (this one is a bit irregular in spelling compared with the infinitive)

Because hålla and hålla i are different.

• hålla can mean hold / keep / place
• hålla i often means hold onto / grip / be holding something in the hand

In this sentence, the meaning is that the child keeps/places her hand in front of her mouth. So håller handen framför munnen is the natural choice.

If you said håller i handen, it would sound more like is holding the hand or holding onto the hand, which is a different idea.

Framför means in front of.

So:

• framför munnen = in front of the mouth

That fits the idea of covering the mouth while coughing.

Be careful not to confuse it with other prepositions:

• på munnen = on the mouth
• över munnen = over the mouth
• framför munnen = in front of the mouth

In this context, framför is very natural.

När means when.

Here it introduces a time clause:

• när hon hostar = when she coughs

This sentence describes what happens at the time she coughs, or what she does whenever she coughs.

So the structure is:

• main clause: Barnet håller handen framför munnen
• time clause: när hon hostar

Yes, and Swedish uses the present tense here very naturally.

• hosta = to cough
• hostar = coughs / is coughing

Swedish present tense often covers both the simple present and the present progressive meanings that English separates.

So när hon hostar can mean:

• when she coughs
• when she is coughing

depending on context.

It can also describe a general habit: when she coughs, she puts her hand in front of her mouth.

Most naturally, it sounds like a general or habitual action:

• The child holds her hand in front of her mouth when she coughs

That is, this is what she does whenever she coughs.

But depending on context, Swedish present tense can also describe what is happening right now, especially in spoken language. Still, without more context, many learners would read this as a general behavior.

Because this is a subordinate clause, and Swedish subordinate clauses normally keep the order:

• subject + verb

So:

• när hon hostar
• not när hostar hon

Compare:

• main clause question: Hostar hon? = Is she coughing? / Does she cough?
• subordinate clause: när hon hostar = when she coughs

If the när-clause came first, then the main clause would show inversion:

• När hon hostar, håller barnet handen framför munnen.

That is standard Swedish word order.

Yes, absolutely.

That version puts the when-clause first:

• När hon hostar, håller barnet handen framför munnen.

This is very natural Swedish. The only important thing is that when a subordinate clause comes first, the main clause must have the verb in second position, so håller comes before barnet.

Compare:

• Barnet håller handen framför munnen när hon hostar.
• När hon hostar, håller barnet handen framför munnen.

Both are correct.

Because Swedish often does not use possessives with body parts when the owner is obvious.

English says:

• her hand
• her mouth

Swedish often prefers:

• handen
• munnen

This is one of the most common differences between Swedish and English. A more literal English translation would sound strange, but in Swedish it is perfectly normal and often preferred.

Here are the basic forms:

• barnet → barn = child
• håller → hålla = to hold
• handen → hand = hand
• framför = in front of
• munnen → mun = mouth
• när = when
• hon = she
• hostar → hosta = to cough

This is useful because Swedish often adds endings to show definiteness or verb tense.