Systrarna tog på sig varsina stövlar innan de gick ut genom grinden.

Systrarna is the definite plural form of systrar (sisters).

• en syster = a sister
• systrar = sisters
• systrarna = the sisters

Swedish often adds the definite ending directly to the noun, instead of using a separate word like the.

Tog på sig means put on in the sense of putting clothes or shoes on oneself.

It comes from the verb ta på sig, which is a separable reflexive verb:

• ta på sig = to put on
• tog på sig = put on / put on themselves

So:

• Systrarna tog på sig ... = The sisters put on ...

This is specifically about dressing yourself, not about placing an object onto something else.

Sig is the reflexive pronoun, meaning something like oneself/themselves.

In Swedish, when you talk about putting clothes on your own body, you usually use the reflexive form:

• Hon tog på sig jackan. = She put on her jacket.
• De tog på sig skorna. = They put on their shoes.

Here, sig refers back to systrarna, so the idea is the sisters put the boots on themselves.

Varsina means one each or a separate one for each person.

So varsina stövlar means that each sister had her own pair / her own boots, rather than them sharing one pair.

This is a very common Swedish word, and English often has to translate it with a phrase rather than one single word.

For example:

• De fick varsin bok. = They got a book each.
• Barnen hade varsina cyklar. = The children had their own bicycles / one bicycle each.

Because stövlar is plural.

• varsin is used with a singular noun of common gender
• varsitt is used with a singular neuter noun
• varsina is used with a plural noun

Compare:

• varsin bok = a book each
• varsitt hus = a house each
• varsina stövlar = boots each / their own boots

Since boots are naturally thought of as a pair, Swedish often uses the plural here.

Grammatically, stövlar is plural, so literally it means boots.

In context, varsina stövlar usually means each person put on their own boots, often understood as a pair of boots. Swedish, like English, may use the plural naturally for footwear:

• skor = shoes
• stövlar = boots

So the sentence suggests each sister put on her own boots before going out.

Innan means before.

It introduces a subordinate clause:

• innan de gick ut genom grinden = before they went out through the gate

So the sentence has:

1. the main clause: Systrarna tog på sig varsina stövlar
2. the subordinate clause: innan de gick ut genom grinden

Because after innan, Swedish normally uses subordinate clause word order, where the subject comes before the verb:

• innan de gick ut ... = before they went out ...

Compare that with a main clause question:

• Gick de ut? = Did they go out?

So de gick is the normal statement order inside the clause introduced by innan.

It means went out through the gate.

Breakdown:

• gick = went
• ut = out
• genom = through
• grinden = the gate

So the movement is from inside to outside, passing through the gate.

They do slightly different jobs:

• ut tells you the direction: out
• genom grinden tells you the path: through the gate

So together:

• gick ut genom grinden = went out through the gate

If you removed one, the meaning would change:

• gick ut = went out
• gick genom grinden = went through the gate

Using both gives the full picture.

Grinden is the definite singular form of grind:

• en grind = a gate
• grinden = the gate

So the sentence refers to a specific gate, probably one already known from context.

Not exactly. In careful written Swedish, de is the subject form meaning they, but in everyday speech it is very often pronounced like dom.

So:

• written: de
• commonly spoken: dom

Learners should recognize de in writing, but be aware that native speakers often say something closer to dom.

The infinitive is gå, meaning to go.

This is an irregular verb:

• gå = to go
• går = go / goes
• gick = went
• gått = gone

So de gick ut means they went out.

Yes. A fairly literal breakdown would be:

The sisters put on themselves one-each boots before they went out through the gate.

That sounds unnatural in English, but it helps show the Swedish structure:

• Systrarna = the sisters
• tog på sig = put on themselves
• varsina stövlar = boots each / their own boots
• innan = before
• de gick ut genom grinden = they went out through the gate

A natural English translation would be something like:

The sisters put on their boots before they went out through the gate.

Or, to keep varsina more clearly:

The sisters each put on their own boots before they went out through the gate.