På torget finns ett café, men jag väntar vid bron.

På torget means in the square / at the town square / on the square, depending on context.

Swedish often puts a place expression first when setting the scene. So instead of starting with Ett café finns..., Swedish very naturally says:

På torget finns ett café
= In the square, there is a café

This gives the sentence a natural “location first” feel.

This is a very common Swedish pattern.

When a sentence begins with something other than the subject, Swedish usually puts the verb in second position. This is called V2 word order.

So in:

På torget finns ett café

the order is:

• På torget = first element
• finns = verb in second position
• ett café = subject-like noun phrase after the verb

A more English-like order such as Ett café finns på torget is possible in some contexts, but it sounds less natural here.

So the sentence uses a very typical Swedish structure for introducing something that exists somewhere.

Finns is used to mean there is / there exists.

So:

• Det finns ett café = There is a café
• På torget finns ett café = There is a café in the square

You would not normally use är here, because är means is/are in the sense of identity, description, or location of something already known.

Compare:

• Caféet är på torget = The café is in the square
  (a specific café, already known)
• På torget finns ett café = There is a café in the square
  (introducing the existence of one)

Because café is an ett-word in Swedish.

Swedish nouns have two grammatical genders:

• en-words
• ett-words

So:

• ett café = a café
• caféet = the café

You usually just have to learn each noun together with its article.

A few examples:

• en bro = a bridge
• ett café = a café

That is why the sentence has:

• ett café
• but bron later, because bro is an en-word

Because vid means by, beside, near.

So:

• vid bron = by the bridge / near the bridge

If you said på bron, that would mean on the bridge, as in physically on top of it or standing/waiting on the bridge itself.

Compare:

• Jag väntar vid bron = I’m waiting by the bridge
• Jag väntar på bron = I’m waiting on the bridge

So vid is used here because the speaker is near the bridge, not necessarily standing on it.

Bron is the definite form of bro.

• en bro = a bridge
• bron = the bridge

In Swedish, the definite article is often added as an ending to the noun.

Since bro is an en-word, its definite singular form is made with -n:

• bro → bron

So:

• vid bron = by the bridge

This suggests a specific bridge, probably one that is already known from the situation or context.

Because men is a coordinating conjunction, and after it the next clause usually keeps normal main-clause word order.

So:

..., men jag väntar vid bron.
= ..., but I’m waiting by the bridge.

The order here is:

• jag = subject
• väntar = verb

You get inversion (verb before subject) when another element comes first in the clause, for example:

• Vid bron väntar jag = By the bridge, I’m waiting

But after men, if the clause starts directly with the subject, normal order is used:

• men jag väntar...

Väntar means wait / am waiting.

In this sentence:

jag väntar vid bron
= I’m waiting by the bridge

Swedish often uses the simple present where English might use either:

• I wait
• I am waiting

So jag väntar can mean either, depending on context, though in this sentence I’m waiting is the most natural translation.

Also, be careful with vänta på:

• vänta på bussen = wait for the bus

But here it is just:

• vänta vid bron = wait by the bridge

So vid bron tells you the location, not what is being waited for.

They show two different kinds of location:

• på torget = in/at the square
• vid bron = by/near the bridge

Even though på often literally means on, Swedish uses it idiomatically with many places. So på torget does not mean you are physically on top of the square in some strange way; it is just the normal Swedish preposition for that place.

So the sentence contrasts:

• a café located at the square
• a person waiting by the bridge

This is the kind of preposition usage that often has to be learned phrase by phrase.

Yes, two small things:

1. It is an ett-word:

   • ett café
   • caféet

2. It often keeps the accent mark in writing:

   • café

In everyday speech, it is a common loanword and is used much like English café. Depending on font and context, you may sometimes also see related words like fik in Swedish, but café is perfectly normal here.

The sentence has two main clauses joined by men (but):

1. På torget finns ett café
2. men jag väntar vid bron

Clause 1:

• På torget = place first
• finns = verb second
• ett café = the thing that exists there

Clause 2:

• jag = subject
• väntar = verb
• vid bron = place

So the sentence is a good example of two very common Swedish patterns:

• location + verb + noun with finns
• subject + verb + location in a normal main clause