Jag hittar inte mina strumpor; de låg i jackans ficka i morse.

In a normal Swedish main clause, the finite verb usually comes early, and inte normally comes after that verb.

So:

• Jag hittar inte mina strumpor = correct
• Jag inte hittar mina strumpor = not correct in a normal main clause

This is a very common Swedish pattern:

• Jag förstår inte
• Hon kommer inte
• Vi vet inte

In subordinate clauses, the position changes, but in this sentence you have a main clause, so hittar inte is the expected order.

That is exactly why Swedish uses the present tense here. Jag hittar inte mina strumpor means I can’t find my socks / I’m not finding my socks in the current situation.

Swedish often uses the simple present where English might use:

• I can’t find
• I’m not finding
• sometimes even I haven’t found

So hittar here expresses the present situation: the speaker is looking for the socks and not finding them.

Because in Swedish, when you use a possessive like min, mitt, mina, the noun usually does not take the definite ending.

So:

• mina strumpor = my socks
• strumporna = the socks

You normally choose one pattern or the other:

• mina strumpor
• de här strumporna
• strumporna

but not usually mina strumporna.

This is different from English, where my socks and the socks both use separate words rather than noun endings.

Swedish often leaves out an article in plural nouns when the meaning is already clear from a possessive or context.

Here, mina already tells you whose socks they are, so no article is needed:

• mina strumpor = my socks

Compare:

• en strumpa = a sock
• strumpan = the sock
• strumpor = socks
• strumporna = the socks

Because mina is already doing the job of identifying them, strumpor stays in its indefinite plural form.

Because de refers back to mina strumpor.

So the structure is:

• mina strumpor = my socks
• de = they

This avoids repeating the noun:

• Jag hittar inte mina strumpor; de låg i jackans ficka i morse.

English does the same:

• I can’t find my socks; they were in the jacket pocket this morning.

In careful written Swedish, de is the subject form. In everyday speech, many speakers pronounce de and dem as dom.

Swedish often uses specific position verbs where English often just uses be.

Here, ligga means to lie and is used for something being in a lying/resting position or simply located somewhere.

So:

• de låg i jackans ficka = they were lying / they were in the jacket’s pocket

Using låg is very natural for objects like socks, books, keys, papers, etc. Swedish prefers this kind of verb more than English does.

A few common Swedish position verbs are:

• ligga = lie
• stå = stand
• sitta = sit
• hänga = hang

So even when English says was/were, Swedish often chooses one of these instead.

Låg is the past tense of ligga.

• infinitive: ligga = to lie
• present: ligger
• past: låg
• supine: legat

So:

• Strumporna ligger i fickan = The socks are in the pocket
• Strumporna låg i fickan = The socks were in the pocket

It is an irregular verb, so the forms need to be learned.

Because jackans is the genitive form of jackan.

• jackan = the jacket
• jackans = the jacket’s

So:

• i jackans ficka = in the jacket’s pocket

Swedish usually forms the genitive by adding -s:

• mannen → mannens
• boken → bokens
• jackan → jackans

This is similar to English 's.

In Swedish genitive phrases, the second noun is often in the indefinite form, even though the whole phrase is definite in meaning.

So:

• jackans ficka = the jacket’s pocket

Here:

• jackans already makes the whole phrase definite
• therefore ficka stays indefinite, not fickan

This is a very important pattern:

• husets dörr = the house’s door
• lärarens bok = the teacher’s book
• jackans ficka = the jacket’s pocket

So jackans ficka is the normal structure.

Yes, absolutely.

• i jackans ficka
• i fickan på jackan

Both can mean in the jacket’s pocket.

The genitive version, jackans ficka, is compact and very common in writing.
The på version can sound a little more conversational or natural in some situations.

So both are useful, and learners should recognize both patterns.

I morse is the usual Swedish expression for this morning.

So:

• i morse = this morning
• på morgonen = in the morning / during the morning

In this sentence, the speaker is referring to the morning of the same day, so i morse is the natural choice.

Examples:

• Jag såg honom i morse = I saw him this morning
• Jag brukar träna på morgonen = I usually exercise in the morning

So i morse is about a specific recent morning, while på morgonen is more general or habitual.

The semicolon links two closely related main clauses:

• Jag hittar inte mina strumpor
• de låg i jackans ficka i morse

The second clause explains or adds context to the first one, so a semicolon works well in writing.

A comma would usually be too weak here in standard written Swedish, because both parts are full main clauses. A period would also be possible:

• Jag hittar inte mina strumpor. De låg i jackans ficka i morse.

So the semicolon is a style choice that shows the two ideas are strongly connected.

Often, not in everyday speech.

In careful written Swedish, the subject form is de and the object form is dem. But in speech, many speakers pronounce both as dom.

So although you write:

• de låg

many people say something closer to:

• dom låg

As a learner, it is good to recognize:

• de = written subject form
• dem = written object form
• dom = very common pronunciation, and sometimes also used in informal writing

Yes, but the meaning would shift slightly.

• Jag hittar inte mina strumpor = I can’t find my socks
• Jag hittar inte strumporna = I can’t find the socks

With mina strumpor, the sentence emphasizes possession: they are my socks.
With strumporna, the socks are definite and known from context, but possession is not stated.

So the original sentence is more personal and more specific about whose socks they are.