På morgonen har jag alltid en servett i fickan och en kanna med vatten nära mig.

In this kind of time expression, Swedish often uses på where English uses in.

So:

• på morgonen = in the morning
• på kvällen = in the evening
• på eftermiddagen = in the afternoon

This is just the normal Swedish pattern. You should learn på morgonen as a set expression.

In this sentence, because of alltid (always), it means something like in the morning / in the mornings.

The definite form morgonen is standard in this expression: på morgonen.

Swedish often uses the definite form in expressions for parts of the day:

• på morgonen
• på kvällen
• under dagen

So even though English just says in the morning, Swedish normally says on the morning-the, literally speaking. It sounds natural in Swedish, even if it feels strange when translated word for word.

This is because of the Swedish V2 rule.

In a main clause, the finite verb must come in the second position. If you move a time expression to the front, the verb still has to stay second.

Basic order:

• Jag har alltid en servett i fickan...

With the time expression moved to the front:

• På morgonen har jag alltid en servett i fickan...

So har has to come before jag here.

Words like alltid (always), ofta (often), and aldrig (never) usually come after the finite verb in Swedish main clauses.

So:

• Jag har alltid...
• Hon kommer ofta...
• Vi äter aldrig...

That is the normal position for this type of adverb in a main sentence.

Because en servett and en kanna are indefinite: they mean a napkin and a jug/pitcher.

But fickan is definite: the pocket.

So the pattern is:

• en servett = a napkin
• en kanna = a jug
• fickan = the pocket

In this sentence, the napkin and the jug are being mentioned as items, while the pocket is understood as a specific pocket.

Swedish often uses the definite form instead of a possessive like my when the owner is obvious, especially with body parts, clothes, and things closely connected to the person.

So Swedish often prefers:

• i fickan = in my pocket / in the pocket
• i handen = in my hand
• på huvudet = on my head

If you say i min ficka, that is possible, but it sounds more explicit and can add emphasis or contrast, like in my pocket, not yours.

Yes. med vatten literally means with water, but in natural English here it means containing water or full of water.

So:

• en kanna med vatten = a jug/pitcher with water in it

This is a very common Swedish way to describe what something contains.

Because after a preposition, Swedish uses the object form of the pronoun.

Here, nära works like a preposition, so you need:

• mig = me

not

• jag = I

The same thing happens with other prepositions:

• till mig = to me
• för mig = for me
• bredvid mig = beside me

So nära mig is correct.

Yes, but the meaning changes a little.

• nära mig = near me / close to me
• bredvid mig = beside me / right next to me

So nära mig is more general. The jug is somewhere close.
Bredvid mig is more exact: it is directly next to you.

It can mean either, depending on context. Here it most naturally means that you have these things with you or available.

So har jag alltid en servett i fickan... suggests something like:

• I always keep a napkin in my pocket
• I always have a napkin in my pocket

It does not strongly focus on ownership. It focuses more on possession in the situation.