Vi lägger undan pengar varje månad.

Lägger undan is a particle verb: a main verb plus a small word that changes or sharpens the meaning.

• lägger = put / lay
• undan = aside / away

Together, lägger undan pengar means set aside money or save money.

This is very common in Swedish. The meaning of the whole expression is more important than the meaning of each word separately.

Lägga is the infinitive, the form meaning to put / to lay.

In the sentence, the verb is in the present tense, so it becomes lägger:

• att lägga = to put
• jag lägger = I put / I am putting
• vi lägger = we put / we are putting

So Vi lägger undan pengar varje månad uses the present tense because it describes a regular action.

Yes, this is a common Swedish present-tense pattern.

Many verbs in Swedish form the present tense with -er.
For lägga, the present tense is lägger.

Some useful forms are:

• infinitive: lägga
• present: lägger
• past: lade
• supine: lagt

So the present form is not built as läggar or lägga. The correct form is lägger.

Because undan is the particle that belongs to the verb.

In a simple statement, the usual order is:

subject + verb + particle + object

So:

• Vi = subject
• lägger = verb
• undan = particle
• pengar = object

That gives:

Vi lägger undan pengar.

With a full noun object like pengar, this order is very natural.

A useful comparison:

• Vi lägger undan pengar.
• Vi lägger undan dem.

With pronouns, Swedish can also place the pronoun before the particle in some contexts:

• Vi lägger dem undan is not natural here.
• For many particle verbs, the standard learner pattern is to keep the particle close to the verb first until you get used to native usage.

The key point: lägga undan is treated as one unit.

Swedish often leaves out an article where English might use some.

So:

• pengar = money / some money

In this sentence, pengar is being used in a general, indefinite way. That is completely normal in Swedish.

English often says:

• We set aside money every month or
• We set aside some money every month

Swedish simply says:

• Vi lägger undan pengar varje månad

Pengar is the normal everyday Swedish word for money.

Even though English money looks singular, Swedish commonly uses the plural-looking form pengar for the general idea of money.

So:

• pengar = money

There is also en peng, which means a coin or sometimes a penny / a small amount of money, but that is not the normal word you use for money in general.

So in everyday Swedish:

• Jag har inga pengar. = I have no money.
• Vi sparar pengar. = We save money.

In Swedish, expressions of repeated time often do not need a preposition.

So:

• varje dag = every day
• varje vecka = every week
• varje månad = every month
• varje år = every year

This works very much like English every month.
You just put the time expression directly in the sentence.

So varje månad is exactly what you would expect here.

The sentence follows normal Swedish main-clause word order:

subject + verb + object/adverbials

More specifically here:

• Vi = subject
• lägger = finite verb
• undan pengar = verb phrase/object area
• varje månad = time expression

So the whole structure is:

Vi + lägger + undan pengar + varje månad

Swedish main clauses usually want the finite verb in the second position. In this sentence, the subject comes first, so the verb comes right after it.

Yes, absolutely.

• spara pengar = save money
• lägga undan pengar = set aside money

They are very close in meaning.

A small difference in feeling:

• spara pengar is the most direct and common way to say save money
• lägga undan pengar emphasizes putting money aside, often regularly or intentionally

So both are correct, but lägga undan can feel a bit more concrete.

You add inte after the finite verb in a main clause:

• Vi lägger inte undan pengar varje månad.

That means We do not set aside money every month.

This is a very important Swedish pattern:

subject + verb + inte + ...

Examples:

• Jag kommer inte. = I am not coming.
• Vi sparar inte pengar. = We do not save money.

In a yes/no question, Swedish usually puts the verb first:

• Lägger vi undan pengar varje månad?

That means:

• Do we set aside money every month?

This is a common pattern:

• statement: Vi lägger undan pengar varje månad.
• question: Lägger vi undan pengar varje månad?

A learner-friendly approximation is:

LEG-er

A few pronunciation notes:

• ä sounds somewhat like the e in bed or air, depending on accent
• gg here sounds like a normal hard g
• the -er ending is usually not strongly stressed

So lägger is not pronounced like English lager or lay-ger.

If you are aiming for a simple approximation, LEG-er is a good start.

In normal Swedish, the subject is usually required.

So you say:

• Vi lägger undan pengar varje månad.

You normally do not drop vi the way you might in Spanish or Italian.

Swedish generally wants an explicit subject in ordinary sentences:

• Jag kommer.
• Hon arbetar.
• Vi lägger undan pengar.

So yes, vi is necessary here.