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### Answering the Phone: *hallå*

**Hej** works everywhere, but the telephone has its own opener: **hallå**. It is also what you call into an empty flat, or down a corridor — *is anyone there?* It is not a greeting you use face to face.

**Ett ögonblick** — *one moment* — is the standard way to ask someone to hold on, on the phone or at a counter.

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### Congratulating and Commiserating

**Grattis** is *congratulations*, and it is the everyday short form (the full *gratulerar* is stiff). **Lycka till** is *good luck* — said before the exam, not after.

When something goes wrong for someone else, Swedish says **vad synd** — *what a shame*. It is the ordinary, warm response to bad news.

| you say | when |
|---|---|
| **grattis** | something good happened |
| **lycka till** | something is about to happen |
| **vad synd** | something went wrong |

### At the Table, and Leaving

**Skål** is the toast — glasses up, eye contact, then drink. **Tack för maten** is said to whoever cooked, every time, by everyone including children; leaving a Swedish table without it is genuinely noticed.

**Trevlig helg** wishes someone a good weekend, and you will hear it in every shop and office on a Friday afternoon. **Åh** is the all-purpose *oh* of surprise, delight or dismay.

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Social formulas (grattis, lycka till, skål)

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
hello (on the phone, or calling out)	hallå
Hello! Are you home?	Hallå! Är du hemma?
Hello, can you hear me?	Hallå, hör du mig?
oh	åh
Oh, how lovely!	Åh, vad fint!
Oh no, I forgot the key!	Åh nej, jag glömde nyckeln!
just a moment	ett ögonblick
Just a moment, I am coming soon.	Ett ögonblick, jag kommer snart.
Can you wait a moment?	Kan du vänta ett ögonblick?
congratulations	grattis
Congratulations on the new job!	Grattis till det nya jobbet!
Congratulations! I am happy for you.	Grattis! Jag är glad för dig.
good luck	lycka till
Good luck with the exam!	Lycka till med provet!
Good luck tomorrow!	Lycka till imorgon!
cheers (a toast)	skål
Cheers! Now we drink.	Skål! Nu dricker vi.
Everyone says cheers.	Alla säger skål.
thank you for the meal	tack för maten
Thank you for the meal! It was good.	Tack för maten! Det var gott.
The children said thank you for the meal.	Barnen sa tack för maten.
what a shame	vad synd
What a shame that you cannot come.	Vad synd att du inte kan komma.
What a shame! The film was boring.	Vad synd! Filmen var tråkig.
have a nice weekend	trevlig helg
Have a nice weekend! See you on Monday.	Trevlig helg! Vi ses på måndag.
Have a nice weekend! Take care.	Trevlig helg! Ha det bra.

Contributors