Förskolan ligger nära vårt hus, så hon hinner lämna barnet där före jobbet.

Förskolan is the definite singular form: the preschool / the daycare.

• en förskola = a preschool
• förskolan = the preschool

In Swedish, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun. Here it suggests a specific preschool that both speaker and listener already know about, or simply the preschool/daycare the child goes to.

Förskola usually means preschool or daycare for young children. In everyday Swedish, it often refers to the place where small children are dropped off before school age.

So in this sentence, it is not just an abstract idea of preschool education; it means the actual childcare place.

Swedish often uses ligga for places and buildings when talking about location.

• Förskolan ligger nära vårt hus = The preschool is located near our house

This is very natural in Swedish. English often just says is, but Swedish commonly says:

• Huset ligger i stan = The house is in town
• Skolan ligger bredvid parken = The school is next to the park

So ligger here means is situated / is located.

Because hus is a neuter noun in Swedish:

• ett hus = a house

Possessives must match the gender and number of the noun:

• min bil but mitt hus
• vår bil but vårt hus

So:

• vårt hus = our house

Here så means so, therefore, or as a result.

It connects the two parts of the sentence:

• Förskolan ligger nära vårt hus = The preschool is near our house
• så hon hinner lämna barnet där före jobbet = so she has time to drop off the child there before work

It is a coordinating conjunction, similar to English so.

Because så here is a coordinating conjunction, and after coordinating conjunctions Swedish normally keeps regular main-clause word order:

• hon hinner = she has time / she manages

So:

• ..., så hon hinner ...

There is no inversion here.

Compare that with a sentence starting with a time word or adverb:

• I dag hinner hon inte. = Today she does not have time.

There, I dag comes first, so the verb comes before the subject. But after så, normal order remains.

Not exactly. Hinner comes from hinna, which means to have enough time, to manage to in time, or to get something done before it is too late.

So:

• hon hinner lämna barnet där = she has time to drop off the child there
• or more literally: she manages to drop off the child there in time

This is different from kan, which means can / is able to in the sense of ability.

Compare:

• Hon kan lämna barnet där. = She can drop off the child there.
  (She is able/allowed to.)
• Hon hinner lämna barnet där. = She has time to drop off the child there.
  (Time is sufficient.)

Here lämna means to drop off or literally to leave.

With children, Swedish often uses lämna for taking a child to preschool, school, or daycare and leaving them there:

• lämna barnet på förskolan = drop off the child at preschool

So in this sentence:

• hon hinner lämna barnet där = she has time to drop off the child there

Barnet is the definite singular form of barn:

• ett barn = a child
• barnet = the child

This usually means the child is already known from context, for example their child.

Swedish often uses the definite form when the listener already knows which person or thing is meant.

Där means there.

It refers back to förskolan:

• hon hinner lämna barnet där = she has time to drop off the child there

So instead of repeating på förskolan or till förskolan, Swedish just uses där.

Före means before, and jobbet means work or the job in the definite form.

So:

• före jobbet = before work

This is a very natural Swedish way to talk about someone’s daily routine. The definite form jobbet is often used where English just says work.

Compare:

• Jag går till jobbet. = I go to work.
• Hon kommer hem efter jobbet. = She comes home after work.

Yes, many speakers would understand it, but före jobbet is the most straightforward choice here.

A useful rule is:

• före is very common before a noun
• innan is especially common before a clause

Examples:

• före jobbet = before work
• innan hon börjar jobba = before she starts work

In modern Swedish, innan can also appear before nouns in some contexts, but före jobbet sounds especially standard and natural here.

It is in the present tense:

• ligger = lies / is located
• hinner = has time / manages

In context, the present tense often describes a general situation or regular routine, not only something happening at this exact moment.

So the sentence can mean something like:

• The preschool is near our house, so she is able to drop off the child there before work.
• The preschool is near our house, so she usually has time to drop off the child there before work.

In practice, it tells us when she manages to drop off the child:

• hon hinner lämna barnet där före jobbet

So it goes most directly with the action lämna barnet där. It means the drop-off happens before work.

Swedish often places time expressions like this toward the end of the clause.

Yes. You could say:

• Förskolan ligger nära vårt hus, så hon hinner lämna barnet på förskolan före jobbet.

That is grammatical, but it sounds more repetitive because förskolan was just mentioned. Using där is more natural and efficient.

A helpful breakdown is:

• Förskolan ligger nära vårt hus
  = The preschool is near our house

• så
  = so

• hon hinner lämna barnet där före jobbet
  = she has time to drop off the child there before work

Inside the second part:

• hon = she
• hinner = has time / manages
• lämna = drop off
• barnet = the child
• där = there
• före jobbet = before work

This kind of chunking makes long Swedish sentences much easier to understand.