Vem gjorde besiktningen?

Vem means who, and in modern Swedish it is also used where English might use whom. So Swedish does not normally make a who/whom distinction in everyday speech.

• Vem gjorde besiktningen? = Who did the inspection?
• Vem såg du? = Who/whom did you see?

So vem is the standard form to learn.

Gjorde is the past tense of the irregular verb göra, which means to do or to make.

Some useful forms are:

• göra = infinitive, to do
• gör = present, does / do
• gjorde = past, did
• gjort = supine/past participle form used in perfect constructions, as in har gjort

So in this sentence, gjorde shows that the action happened in the past.

In Swedish, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun instead of appearing as a separate word in front.

• besiktning = inspection
• besiktningen = the inspection

So -en is the definite ending here.

This is very common in Swedish:

• bil = car

• bilen = the car

• bok = book
• boken = the book

Besiktning usually means an inspection, often an official or technical one.

Common contexts include:

• a vehicle inspection
• a building inspection
• a property survey/check
• some other formal examination of condition or safety

So it often sounds more specific and practical than a broad English word like check.

This is normal Swedish question structure.

The sentence begins with the question word vem, then comes the finite verb gjorde, and then the object besiktningen.

So the pattern is:

• Vem
  • gjorde
    • besiktningen

This is completely standard. Swedish main clauses usually keep the finite verb very early in the sentence, often in the second position. In a question like this, the structure feels natural and direct.

Unlike English, Swedish does not need do-support for ordinary questions.

English says:

• Who did the inspection?

Swedish simply uses the main verb itself:

• Vem gjorde besiktningen?

That is a very important difference. In Swedish, you usually do not add an extra verb corresponding to English do/did just to form a question.

Yes, you can say Vem har gjort besiktningen?

The difference is tense/aspect:

• Vem gjorde besiktningen? = simple past; asks about a completed action in the past
• Vem har gjort besiktningen? = present perfect; often focuses more on the result now, or on a past action that is relevant to the present

In many situations, both are possible, but the choice depends on context.

Gjorde is irregular in spelling and pronunciation, which is why learners often ask about it.

A rough guide is:

• gjorde ≈ YOR-deh

The gj at the beginning is not pronounced like a hard English g. In standard Swedish, it sounds more like a y-sound.

The exact pronunciation depends somewhat on accent and dialect, but if you say something close to YOR-deh, you will be much closer than if you pronounce the g normally.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• be-SIKT-ning-en

The stress is mainly on sikt.

You can think of it in parts:

• be
• sikt
• ning
• en

Try to say it smoothly as one word, since Swedish attaches the definite ending directly to the noun.

Not in a direct question like this.

The correct direct question is:

• Vem gjorde besiktningen?

Adding som here would sound wrong in standard Swedish.

However, vem som can appear in other structures, especially inside larger sentences, for example:

• Jag vet inte vem som gjorde besiktningen.
  = I don’t know who did the inspection.

So:

• direct question: vem gjorde ... ?
• embedded clause: vem som gjorde ...

It is singular definite.

Breakdown:

• besiktning = singular indefinite, an inspection
• besiktningen = singular definite, the inspection

The plural forms are different:

• besiktningar = inspections
• besiktningarna = the inspections

So in your sentence, it refers to one specific inspection.