När rektorn ser barnens teckningar med krita på väggen, säger hon att klassrummet känns både varmt och trevligt.

Rektorn is the definite form of rektor.

• rektor = a principal / principal
• rektorn = the principal

Swedish usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun:

• en bok = a book
• boken = the book

So here, rektorn means the principal, not just principal in a general sense.

This shows possession: the children’s drawings.

Breakdown:

• barn = child / children
• barnen = the children
• barnens = the children’s
• teckningar = drawings

In Swedish, possession is often made by adding -s to the possessor:

• läraren = the teacher
• lärarens bok = the teacher’s book

So:

• barnens teckningar = the children’s drawings

Notice that barn is one of those nouns whose singular and plural are the same, so context matters.

Because the definiteness is already understood from the possessive phrase.

In Swedish, after a possessor like barnens, the following noun usually stays in the indefinite form:

• barnens teckningar = literally the children’s drawings
• not barnens teckningarna

This is similar to how English says the children’s drawings, not the children’s the drawings.

So teckningar is plural, but not definite in form, because barnens already makes the whole phrase definite.

Med krita means with chalk or in crayon/chalk, depending on context.

• med = with
• krita = chalk, but in some contexts it can also refer to a wax crayon or drawing crayon

In this sentence, it most naturally describes how the drawings were made:

• teckningar med krita = drawings made with chalk/crayon

So it is not mainly saying that the principal sees them using chalk, but that the drawings themselves are chalk drawings.

Yes, that is the most natural reading.

• på väggen = on the wall

So the phrase likely means that the principal sees the children’s chalk drawings on the wall.

Structurally, Swedish often places location phrases like this after the noun phrase:

• barnens teckningar med krita på väggen

That whole part can be understood as one description of what she sees.

This is because Swedish follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb normally comes in second position.

The sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• När rektorn ser barnens teckningar med krita på väggen

After that whole clause, the main clause starts. Since the first position is already taken by the När... clause, the finite verb comes next:

• säger = second position
• hon = subject after the verb

So:

• När ..., säger hon ...

This is very typical Swedish word order.

Compare:

• Hon säger att... = She says that...
• När ..., säger hon att... = When ..., she says that...

När means when.

It introduces a subordinate clause:

• När rektorn ser... = When the principal sees...

This clause gives the time or situation in which the main action happens.

A useful thing to remember:

• När is often used for when
• it does not change the meaning of the main clause, but it affects word order after it, because of the V2 rule in the main clause

Because känns here is the passive-like form of känna used in the sense feel / seem / feel like.

• känna often means to feel or to know by touch
• kännas means to feel, seem, have a certain atmosphere

So:

• Jag känner bordet = I touch/feel the table
• Rummet känns varmt = The room feels warm

In this sentence:

• klassrummet känns både varmt och trevligt = the classroom feels both warm and pleasant

So the classroom is not doing the feeling; it is giving an impression.

Because klassrummet is a t-word noun.

• ett klassrum = a classroom
• klassrummet = the classroom

Adjectives used with many ett-words often take -t in the singular:

• ett varmt rum = a warm room
• rummet är varmt = the room is warm
• klassrummet känns varmt = the classroom feels warm

The same happens with trevligt.

So the -t agrees with klassrummet, which is neuter gender.

It means both ... and ....

So:

• både varmt och trevligt = both warm and pleasant

This is a very common Swedish structure:

• både kaffe och te = both coffee and tea
• hon är både smart och vänlig = she is both smart and kind

It is used just like English both ... and ....

Here att means that.

• säger hon att... = she says that...

In Swedish, att often introduces a content clause after verbs like:

• säga = say
• tro = think/believe
• veta = know

So:

• Hon säger att klassrummet känns varmt. = She says that the classroom feels warm.

Just like in English, that can sometimes be omitted in informal speech, but Swedish often keeps att.

Because att introduces a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses do not follow the same V2 pattern as main clauses.

So after att, the subject usually comes before the verb:

• att klassrummet känns...
• not att känns klassrummet...

Compare:

• Main clause: Klassrummet känns varmt.
• Subordinate clause: hon säger att klassrummet känns varmt

This is a key difference between Swedish main clauses and subordinate clauses.

Yes, ser is the present tense of se (to see).

• se = to see
• ser = sees / is seeing

In this sentence, it most naturally means sees in the present, within the situation introduced by När:

• När rektorn ser... = When the principal sees...

Swedish present tense often covers both simple present and some uses that English might express with progressive meaning, depending on context.

Yes, it is natural and correct to use hon here.

The first clause gives the subject of that clause:

• När rektorn ser...

Then the main clause has its own subject:

• säger hon...

Using hon avoids repeating rektorn, and it sounds natural, just like English:

• When the principal sees..., she says...

Swedish commonly uses pronouns this way when the reference is clear.