When arranging furniture or looking for a lost item, you need to be specific about where things are located. Swedish uses a standard set of spatial prepositions to describe exact locations.
Let's look at how to place objects in a room in relation to one another.
In Front Of and Behind
To say something is in front of an object, use framför. For the reverse, use bakom (behind).
| We put that plant in front of the window. | Vi ställer den där växten framför fönstret. |
| The boy finds his toy behind the TV. | Pojken hittar sin leksak bakom teven. |
Next To and Opposite
When placing things side by side, use bredvid (next to).
| There is something next to the bed. | Det finns något bredvid sängen. |
If something is directly across a space from another object, use mittemot (opposite).
| The bed is opposite the door. | Sängen är mittemot dörren. |
Under and Over
To describe vertical relationships, use under (under/below) and över (over/above).
| The cat is sleeping under that table. | Katten sover under det där bordet. |
When placing items like lamps, pictures, or clothes, you will often see the verb hänga (to hang) paired with these prepositions:
| We hang a new lamp over the table. | Vi hänger en ny lampa över bordet. |
Between
Use mellan to say something is "between" two places or objects. Just like in English, this preposition is usually followed by two nouns linked by och (and), or by a plural noun.
| The armchair is between the TV and the plant. | Fåtöljen är mellan teven och växten. |
