När jag hade kontrollerat tiden, slapp jag springa till stationen.

Hade kontrollerat is the past perfect (also called the pluperfect). It shows that this action was completed before another action in the past.

So in the sentence:

När jag hade kontrollerat tiden, slapp jag springa till stationen.

the order is:

1. I checked the time.
2. Because of that, I did not have to run to the station.

If you said När jag kontrollerade tiden, it would usually mean when I was checking the time or simply refer to the action in the past without clearly emphasizing that it happened earlier than slapp.

The Swedish past perfect is formed with:

hade + supine

Here:

• hade = past tense of ha
• kontrollerat = supine form of kontrollera

So:

• jag har kontrollerat = I have checked
• jag hade kontrollerat = I had checked

This is very similar to English:

• have checked
• had checked

This is because of the Swedish V2 rule.

In Swedish main clauses, the finite verb must come in the second position. The sentence begins with the subordinate clause:

När jag hade kontrollerat tiden

That whole clause counts as position 1. So the finite verb in the main clause must come next:

slapp

Then comes the subject:

jag

So:

• När jag hade kontrollerat tiden, slapp jag springa till stationen.

If the sentence started with the main clause instead, you would say:

• Jag slapp springa till stationen när jag hade kontrollerat tiden.

Then jag comes first and slapp comes second.

Slapp is the past tense of slippa.

Slippa means something like:

• to not have to
• to avoid
• to be spared

In this sentence, slapp jag springa means:

• I didn’t have to run
• or I avoided having to run

So it does not mean that I actively escaped from running in a dramatic sense; it simply means the situation made running unnecessary.

After slippa, Swedish normally uses the infinitive without att.

So you say:

• slippa springa
• slippa vänta
• slippa gå dit

not:

• slippa att springa

This is similar to some English verbs that are followed directly by another verb, although the pattern is not always identical between the two languages.

När usually means when.

Here it introduces a time clause:

När jag hade kontrollerat tiden = When I had checked the time

It tells us at what point the main action became true. In context, it implies that once the speaker had checked the time, they realized there was no need to run.

Swedish could also sometimes use another structure, such as efter att, but när is very natural here.

Tiden is the definite form, meaning the time.

In Swedish, when you mean a specific time already understood from context, you often use the definite form:

• kontrollera tiden = check the time

Using just tid would sound incomplete or unnatural here. You are not checking time in general; you are checking the time.

Usually, kontrollera tiden most naturally means check the time.

Depending on context, it could sometimes be understood a little more broadly, but the most likely meaning is that the speaker looked at the clock or checked what time it was.

If Swedish wanted to make the idea more specific, it might use other phrases depending on the situation, but kontrollera tiden is a normal way to express check the time.

The comma separates the introductory subordinate clause from the main clause:

När jag hade kontrollerat tiden, slapp jag springa till stationen.

In Swedish, commas in sentences like this are often used, especially in writing, to make the structure clearer. You may also see similar sentences without a comma in less formal writing, but using one here is completely normal and helpful.

So the comma is mainly about readability, not about changing the meaning.

The first part is a subordinate clause:

När jag hade kontrollerat tiden

Its structure is:

• När = subordinating conjunction
• jag = subject
• hade = finite verb
• kontrollerat = supine
• tiden = object

So the clause follows normal subordinate-clause order.

A useful thing to remember is that Swedish main clauses and subordinate clauses behave differently. The inversion happens in the main clause after the opening subordinate clause, not inside the subordinate clause itself.

Yes. That is also grammatical.

It means the same thing overall, but the emphasis is a little different:

• När jag hade kontrollerat tiden, slapp jag springa till stationen.
  This highlights the time/background first.

• Jag slapp springa till stationen när jag hade kontrollerat tiden.
  This starts with the main point: I didn’t have to run to the station.

So the difference is mostly one of focus and style, not core meaning.

Yes. Springa means run, and till stationen means to the station.

So the phrase is literally:

• run to the station

In context, it often suggests hurrying because you are late or afraid of missing something, such as a train.

Also note the difference between:

• till stationen = to the station
• på stationen = at the station

Here the motion is toward the station, so till is the correct preposition.

Yes, Swedish speakers might sometimes say:

När jag kontrollerade tiden, slapp jag springa till stationen.

But that version is less precise about the sequence of events. It can still be understood, but hade kontrollerat makes it clearer that the checking happened before the realization that running was unnecessary.

So:

• hade kontrollerat = clearer sequence, more explicitly had checked
• kontrollerade = simpler, but less exact about which past action came first

That is why the past perfect is a very natural choice here.