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When discussing alternate histories or parallel universes, we often start our thoughts with "What if...?" or "Imagine that...!". In Swedish, these expressions use the imperative form of *att tänka* (to think): *tänk*.

Both *tänk om* and *tänk att* introduce subordinate clauses, meaning they follow standard subclause word order: **Subject + (Sentence Adverb) + Verb**.

### Tänk om (What if)

*Tänk om* means "what if" and introduces hypothetical scenarios, wishes, or fears. You can use the present tense for future possibilities, or past tenses for alternate histories.

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### Tänk att (Imagine that)

*Tänk att* translates to "Imagine that...!" or "To think that...!" and expresses wonder, surprise, or disbelief about something true. In the last example below, notice how the sentence adverb (*faktiskt*) comes before the verb (*existerar*), following the subclause word order rule.

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Hypothetical exclamations (tänk att, tänk om)

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
what if	tänk om
to invent	uppfinna
the time machine	tidsmaskinen
What if someone invents a time machine tomorrow!	Tänk om någon uppfinner en tidsmaskin imorgon!
imagine that	tänk att
to exist	existera
Imagine that such a tool can exist!	Tänk att ett sådant verktyg kan existera!
the time journey	tidsresan
infinite	oändlig
the past	dåtiden
The time journey created infinite problems in the past.	Tidsresan skapade oändliga problem i dåtiden.
the timeline	tidslinjen
What if we changed the timeline in the past?	Tänk om vi ändrade tidslinjen i dåtiden?
Most researchers do not believe that the time machine exists.	De flesta forskare tror inte att tidsmaskinen existerar.
to predict	förutsäga
Imagine that she invented a machine that predicts the future!	Tänk att hon uppfann en maskin som förutsäger framtiden!
It is impossible to predict an infinite timeline.	Det är omöjligt att förutsäga en oändlig tidslinje.
What if the time journey has already happened?	Tänk om tidsresan redan har skett?
Imagine that infinite worlds actually exist!	Tänk att oändliga världar faktiskt existerar!
What if one had invented the computer in the past!	Tänk om man hade uppfunnit datorn i dåtiden!
Every time journey risks destroying our timeline.	Varje tidsresa riskerar att förstöra vår tidslinje.
Can the time machine predict the future for us?	Kan tidsmaskinen förutsäga framtiden åt oss?