Reporting Commands and Requests
When you want to report what someone told or asked another person to do, you use an indirect command. This is very common in environments like physical therapy or personal training, where professionals give instructions.
The structure for an indirect command in Swedish is straightforward: Reporting Verb + Object + att + Infinitive
The object is the person receiving the instruction. A common reporting verb is säga åt (to tell someone to do something).
| The trainer told me to rest. | Tränaren sa åt mig att vila. |
Stronger and Softer Requests
Depending on the context, you might need to urge, advise, or simply ask a client to perform a movement. The grammar structure remains exactly the same, but you will use different reporting verbs:
- uppmana: to urge
- råda: to advise
- be: to ask (for a favor or action)
| I urge the client to stretch the arms. | Jag uppmanar klienten att sträcka armarna. |
| The doctor advised him to bend the joint without rushing. | Läkaren rådde honom att böja leden utan att stressa. |
| The trainer asks you to repeat the movement. | Tränaren ber dig att repetera rörelsen. |
Questions and Different Tenses
This structure stays consistent even when you ask a question or change the tense of the reporting verb. The action being requested always remains in the att + infinitive form.
| Has the trainer told you to relax? | Har tränaren sagt åt dig att slappna av? |
| Did you advise the client to rest the muscle? | Rådde du klienten att vila muskeln? |
Negative Indirect Commands
If you need to instruct someone not to do something, you will use the negation word inte. In an infinitive phrase, inte goes immediately after att and before the infinitive verb.
Structure: Reporting Verb + Object + att + inte + Infinitive
| The nurse told me not to stretch the muscle. | Sjuksköterskan sa åt mig att inte sträcka muskeln. |