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To place special emphasis on a specific part of a question, Swedish frequently uses cleft constructions—similar to "Who is it that..." in English. You build these with a question word (*vem*, *vad*, or *var*), followed by *är det* (is it), and often the relative pronoun *som* (that/who).

### Emphasizing the Subject (*Vem* and *Vad*)

To emphasize *who* or *what* is performing an action, use *Vem är det som...* or *Vad är det som...*. When the question word represents the subject of the sentence, *som* is strictly required to connect the question to the rest of the clause.

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### Emphasizing "Where" (*Var*)

You can also emphasize a location using *Var är det...* (Where is it...). Because *var* points to a place rather than the subject of the sentence, Swedish speakers typically drop the word *som* entirely.

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### Emphasizing the Object

When asking about the *object* of the sentence (the person or thing receiving the action), *som* is usually kept as a connector even though there is another subject performing the action. If the question involves a preposition (like *med*, with), that preposition gets pushed to the very end of the sentence.

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Focused questions (vem är det som…)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite ending (barnet, hunden)

Indefinite articles and -ar verbs (en, ett)

Basic word order

Singular adjectives (stor, stort)

Plural adjectives (-a)

Sentence negation (inte)

Yes/No questions

Basic question words (vad, vem, var)

Regular Group 2 verbs (-er)

Short verbs and irregulars (har, gör)

The infinitive marker (att)

Modal verbs (kan, vill, måste, får)

Future intention (ska)

Time adverbs (imorgon, igår)

Word order inversion

Adverbs of frequency (ibland, aldrig)

Everyday things (dörren, stolen, tåget)

Definite suffix spelling changes

Plural nouns Group 1 and 2 (-or, -ar)

Plural nouns Group 3 (-er, -r)

Neuter indefinite plurals

Definite plural suffixes (-na, -a, -en)

Object pronouns (mig, dig, oss)

Reflexive pronouns (sig)

Expanded question words (när, varför)

Which and what (vilken, vilket, vilka)

Coordinating conjunctions (men, eller, för)

Prepositions of place (i, på, till, från)

Quantifiers (mycket, många)

Indefinite pronouns (någon, något, några)

First and second person possessives (min, din, vår, er)

Third person possessives (hans, hennes, dess, deras)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sitt, sina)

The genitive (-s)

Adjectives before singular nouns

Adjectives before plural nouns (-a)

Double definiteness (den, det, de)

Demonstratives (den här, det här, de här)

The imperative mood

Past tense of vara and ha (var, hade)

Possessives for names (-s)

Definite plural adjectives (de ... -a)

Genitive case for names (-s)

Numbers 1 to 10 (en, två, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elva till tjugo)

Counting by tens to 100 (trettio, fyrtio...)

Days of the week (måndag, tisdag...)

Months of the year (januari, februari...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (första, andra...)

Greetings and politeness (hej, tack, förlåt)

Particle verbs of direction (gå ut, komma in)

Simple past: Group 1 (-ade)

Simple past: Group 2a (-de)

Simple past: Group 2b (-te)

Simple past: Group 3 (-dde)

Simple past: Group 4

Present perfect: Groups 1 and 2 (har)

Present perfect: Groups 3 and 4

Past perfect (hade)

Future predictions (kommer att)

Future with present tense

The adjective small (liten, litet, små)

Demonstratives of distance (den där, det där, de där)

Negative pronouns (ingen, inget, inga)

Universal pronouns (all, allt, alla)

The generic pronoun (man, en)

Possessive generic pronoun (ens)

Reciprocal pronoun (varandra)

Qualitative pronouns (sådan, sådant, sådana)

Habitual time expressions (på)

Specific past time expressions (i)

Past time expressions (för ... sedan)

Future time expressions (om)

Location and motion adverbs (här/hit, där/dit)

Consequences (så)

Correlative conjunctions (både ... och)

Either and neither (antingen ... eller, varken ... eller)

Verbs of opinion and belief (tycker, tror, tänker)

Subordinate clauses (att, om)

Time clauses (när, innan, medan)

Clauses of cause (eftersom, därför att)

Negation in subordinate clauses (inte)

V2 word order inversion

Relative clauses as subjects (som)

Relative clauses as objects (som)

Relative clauses for places (där)

Adverbs from adjectives (-t)

Adjective comparative and superlative (-are, -ast)

Question	Answer
the audition	provspelningen
Who is it that is responsible for the audition?	Vem är det som ansvarar för provspelningen?
What is it that makes the audition so difficult?	Vad är det som gör provspelningen så svår?
the casting	rollbesättningen
Who is it that will lead the casting?	Vem är det som ska leda rollbesättningen?
Where is it that we will discuss the casting?	Var är det vi ska diskutera rollbesättningen?
the chemistry	kemin
What is it that creates the chemistry between them?	Vad är det som skapar kemin mellan dem?
The director is looking for the same chemistry as in the other movie.	Regissören letar efter samma kemi som i den andra filmen.
the nervousness	nervositeten
What is it that lies behind the nervousness?	Vad är det som ligger bakom nervositeten?
Who is it that can hide the nervousness on the stage?	Vem är det som kan dölja nervositeten på scenen?
the monologue	monologen
Who is it that will read the monologue first?	Vem är det som ska läsa monologen först?
Where is it that she will do the monologue?	Var är det hon ska göra monologen?
to portray	gestalta
Who is it that can portray the character best?	Vem är det som kan gestalta karaktären bäst?
What is it that makes the role difficult to portray?	Vad är det som gör rollen svår att gestalta?
the body language	kroppsspråket
What is it that the body language reveals about the character?	Vad är det som kroppsspråket avslöjar om karaktären?
Ten years ago he had a completely different body language.	För tio år sedan hade han ett helt annat kroppsspråk.
the feeling (empathy, immersion)	inlevelsen
What is it that creates the feeling in the movie?	Vad är det som skapar inlevelsen i filmen?
Who is it that shows the same feeling as the other actor?	Vem är det som visar samma inlevelse som den andra skådespelaren?
the presence	närvaron
What is it that gives the actor the incredible presence?	Vad är det som ger skådespelaren den otroliga närvaron?
Where is it that the presence is missing the most?	Var är det närvaron saknas mest?
the interpretation	tolkningen
What is it that makes the interpretation so interesting?	Vad är det som gör tolkningen så intressant?
Who is it that the director is discussing the interpretation with?	Vem är det som regissören diskuterar tolkningen med?