Breakdown of Hon håller på att vänja sig vid att prata svenska med sina grannar.
Questions & Answers about Hon håller på att vänja sig vid att prata svenska med sina grannar.
Why is håller på att used here instead of just a simple present verb?
Håller på att + infinitive is a common way to show that something is ongoing, similar to is in the process of or sometimes is busy in English.
So:
Hon håller på att vänja sig ...
= she is in the process of getting used to ...
If you say:
Hon vänjer sig vid att prata svenska med sina grannar,
that is also correct and natural. It just sounds a little less explicitly focused on the ongoing process right now.
Why is it vänja sig and not just vänja?
Because vänja sig is a reflexive verb. It means to get used to.
- vänja sig vid något = to get used to something
- vänja någon vid något = to accustom someone to something
So:
- Hon vänjer sig vid kylan = She is getting used to the cold.
- Hon vänjer barnet vid kylan = She is accustoming the child to the cold.
In your sentence, the subject herself is the one becoming accustomed, so Swedish uses sig.
What exactly does sig do here?
Sig is the reflexive pronoun for third person. It refers back to the subject.
In this sentence, sig refers back to hon.
Compare:
- Jag vänjer mig = I am getting used to it
- Du vänjer dig = You are getting used to it
- Hon vänjer sig = She is getting used to it
- Vi vänjer oss = We are getting used to it
So sig is not extra; it is part of the verb pattern vänja sig vid.
What is the difference between vänja sig vid and bli van vid?
Both can be translated as get/become used to, but they focus on slightly different things:
- vänja sig vid = the process of getting used to something
- bli van vid = becoming used to something, often closer to the result or change of state
Examples:
Hon håller på att vänja sig vid att prata svenska
= She is in the process of getting used to speaking Swedish.Hon blir van vid att prata svenska
= She is becoming used to speaking Swedish.
In your sentence, vänja sig works especially well because the whole idea is about an ongoing adjustment.
Why are there two atts in the sentence?
Because they belong to two different constructions.
håller på att vänja sig
Here, att is part of hålla på att + infinitive.vänja sig vid att prata svenska
Here, att introduces the infinitive phrase prata svenska after vid.
So the sentence is built like this:
- Hon håller på att
- vänja sig
- vänja sig vid
- att prata svenska med sina grannar
It may look repetitive, but it is completely normal Swedish.
Why is it vid att prata? Can vid really be followed by att + infinitive?
Yes. After vänja sig vid, Swedish can use either:
- a noun
vänja sig vid kylan = get used to the cold
or
- att + infinitive for an action
vänja sig vid att prata svenska = get used to speaking Swedish
This is a very common pattern in Swedish. English often uses -ing after get used to, but Swedish normally uses att + infinitive here.
So:
- English: get used to speaking Swedish
- Swedish: vänja sig vid att prata svenska
Why is it prata and not pratar?
Because after att, Swedish uses the infinitive form.
- att prata = to speak
- pratar = speaks / is speaking
So:
- att prata svenska = to speak Swedish
- not att pratar svenska
This is similar to English to speak, not to speaks.
Why is svenska not capitalized, and why is there no article?
In Swedish, names of languages are normally written with a lowercase letter unless they start the sentence.
So:
- svenska
- engelska
- spanska
not Svenska, Engelska, Spanska in the middle of a sentence.
Also, after verbs like prata, tala, lära sig, and förstå, the language name usually appears without an article:
- prata svenska
- lära sig engelska
- förstå tyska
So prata svenska is the normal form.
Why is it sina grannar and not hennes grannar?
Because sina is a reflexive possessive adjective. It is used when the possessor is the same as the subject of the clause.
Here, the subject is hon, and the neighbors are her own neighbors, so Swedish uses sina.
- Hon pratar med sina grannar = She talks with her own neighbors.
If you say:
- Hon pratar med hennes grannar
that usually means She is talking with her neighbors, where her refers to some other female person, not the subject.
So sina points back to the subject; hennes does not.
Why is it grannar and not grannarna?
After a possessive like min, din, sin, hennes, våra, etc., Swedish normally uses the noun in its indefinite form.
So you say:
- mina grannar
- sina grannar
- hennes grannar
not:
- mina grannarna
- sina grannarna
Even though the meaning is definite in English, Swedish does not usually add the definite ending when there is already a possessive.
Where does sig go in the phrase vänja sig vid?
In normal modern Swedish, the reflexive pronoun usually comes directly after the verb:
- vänja sig vid
- klä sig
- sätta sig
- bestämma sig
So:
- att vänja sig vid att prata svenska
is correct.
You would not normally move sig in front of vänja or place it after vid. The fixed pattern is:
verb + reflexive pronoun + preposition
Here: vänja + sig + vid.
More from this lesson
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning SwedishMaster Swedish — from Hon håller på att vänja sig vid att prata svenska med sina grannar to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions