När bänken på torget är torr sitter vi där och pratar.

Because Swedish uses verb-second word order in main clauses.

The sentence begins with the subordinate clause När bänken på torget är torr. After that whole clause, the finite verb of the main clause must come first, so you get:

När bänken på torget är torr sitter vi där och pratar.

Literally, the pattern is:

[When-clause] + [verb] + [subject]

So:

• När ... är torr, sitter vi ...
• not När ... är torr, vi sitter ...

This is a very common Swedish pattern.

När means when here and introduces a subordinate clause.

In this sentence, it gives the condition or time frame for the main action:

• När bänken på torget är torr = When the bench in the square is dry
• sitter vi där och pratar = we sit there and talk

Depending on context, när can sometimes feel like when or whenever in English. Here it could suggest a repeated situation: whenever the bench is dry, we sit there and talk.

In Swedish, definiteness is often shown by adding an ending to the noun.

• en bänk = a bench

• bänken = the bench

• ett torg = a square / marketplace
• torget = the square

So:

• bänken på torget = the bench in the square

Swedish uses the definite form when talking about something specific or already identifiable from the context. The sentence is not about just any bench or any square; it means a particular bench in a particular square.

Because Swedish normally uses på with torg.

So you say:

• på torget = in the square / at the square

Even though English usually says in the square, Swedish prefers på here. This is just one of those common preposition patterns you need to learn as a set expression.

Similar place expressions in Swedish often do not match English exactly, so it is best to remember:

• på torget
• på landet
• på stationen

Because torr agrees with bänken, which is a singular en-word.

Here is the basic pattern for the adjective torr:

• en bänk är torr
• ett bord är torrt
• bänkar är torra

Since bänk is an en noun, and it is singular, the correct form is torr.

Also notice that this is a predicative adjective, because it comes after är:

• Bänken är torr. = The bench is dry.

It is a very common Swedish construction.

sitter ... och pratar literally means sit ... and talk, but in natural English it often corresponds to:

• are sitting there talking
• sit there and talk

Swedish does not have an English-style progressive tense like are talking, so the simple present often covers that meaning.

The structure sitta och + verb often describes someone being in a seated position while doing something:

• Hon sitter och läser. = She is sitting reading / She is sitting and reading.
• Vi sitter och pratar. = We are sitting and talking.

So yes, it can sometimes feel a bit like a progressive expression, but it is built differently.

Där means there.

It refers back to the place just mentioned — essentially the location of the bench in the square. So:

• sitter vi där och pratar = we sit there and talk

You could say sitter vi och pratar, but där makes the location more explicit and natural. It emphasizes that that is the place where we sit.

Usually, no comma is needed in normal Swedish writing.

So this is perfectly standard:

När bänken på torget är torr sitter vi där och pratar.

In English, a comma after an opening when-clause is more common:

When the bench in the square is dry, we sit there and talk.

Swedish punctuation is often lighter in this kind of sentence, although a comma may sometimes appear for clarity or style.

Because Swedish uses the present tense for actions that are habitual, general, or happening in a repeated situation.

So pratar can mean:

• talk
• are talking

depending on context.

In this sentence, the present tense suggests something habitual or typical:

• when the bench is dry, we sit there and talk

That is why Swedish does not need a separate form like English we are talking here.

Yes. If you do not start with the när-clause, you can get a more straightforward main clause order:

Vi sitter där och pratar när bänken på torget är torr.

But that version sounds a bit less natural for the intended meaning, because it makes the when part feel more like an added detail at the end.

Starting with När bänken på torget är torr ... gives the condition or situation first, which is very natural in Swedish.