In English, we say "there is" or "there are" to state that something exists. In Swedish, you use the phrase det finns. It uses the dummy subject det (it) and literally translates to "it is found".
You use det finns regardless of whether the noun that follows is singular or plural.
| There is a beautiful fountain in the park. | Det finns en vacker fontän i parken. |
| There are many cars in the parking lot today. | Det finns många bilar på parkeringen idag. |
Asking questions
To ask "is there?" or "are there?", you follow standard Swedish question word order by swapping the subject (det) and the verb (finns).
| Is there a toilet behind the kiosk? | Finns det en toalett bakom kiosken? |
| Is there a playground or an indoor swimming pool here? | Finns det en lekplats eller en simhall här? |
Describing quantities and locations
Det finns pairs naturally with words that describe where or how much of something exists, such as överallt (everywhere).
| There is snow everywhere on the sidewalk. | Det finns snö överallt på trottoaren. |
To say that "there is no" or "there are no" things in a location, use the negative determiner ingen (no/none).
| There is no bus stop on that street. | Det finns ingen busshållplats på den där gatan. |
The V2 rule with "det finns"
Remember that Swedish requires the verb to be the second element in a main clause (the V2 rule). If you start a sentence with a time or a location, the verb (finns) must come immediately after it, pushing the dummy subject (det) to the third position.
| In the spring there are flowers everywhere in the garden. | På våren finns det blommor överallt i trädgården. |
