To talk about recurring events and routines—like checking the schedule "every morning" or working "every other week"—Swedish uses distributive time pronouns.
Every (varje)
When an event happens every single time period, use varje (every/each). This word is very straightforward: it never changes form, meaning you use it for both en-words and ett-words. The time noun that follows it is always in its indefinite singular form.
| I check the schedule every morning. | Jag kontrollerar schemat varje morgon. |
| Every year the company releases a new version. | Varje år släpper företaget en ny version. |
Every other (varannan / vartannat)
To describe an alternating schedule, like doing something "every other" week or day, Swedish uses a specific pronoun. Unlike varje, this pronoun must match the gender of the time word:
- Use varannan for en-words (like en vecka or en dag).
- Use vartannat for ett-words (like ett år).
Just like before, the time noun stays in the indefinite singular form.
| He works the tough shift every other week. | Han jobbar det tuffa skiftet varannan vecka. |
| You must check the oil every other year. | Du måste kontrollera oljan vartannat år. |
Every Nth (var / vart)
When an event happens at wider intervals—such as "every third month" or "every fifth year"—you combine var or vart with an ordinal number (like tredje, fjärde, or femte).
Once again, you must pay attention to the gender of the time word:
- Use var
- ordinal for en-words.
- Use vart
- ordinal for ett-words.
| I buy a new toothbrush every third month. | Jag köper en ny tandborste var tredje månad. |
| We change the oil every fifth year. | Vi byter oljan vart femte år. |