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### The relative pronoun "vad"

You already know **vad** as the question word for "what". Just like in English, you can also use **vad** in the middle of a sentence to mean "what" or "that which". 

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When used this way, **vad** acts as a relative pronoun connecting two parts of a sentence. It introduces a subordinate clause and is extremely common when describing what someone knows, sees, or explains.

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### Indirect questions and prepositions

You will frequently use **vad** to embed an indirect question into a statement. Notice that the clause following **vad** uses standard word order (Subject + Verb).

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If the first part of the sentence uses a verb that is normally paired with a preposition (like *lyssnar på*), you simply place the preposition right before **vad**.

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The relative pronoun what (vad)

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 fortune teller (f)	spådamen
the crystal ball	kristallkulan
The fortune teller can see what the crystal ball shows.	Spådamen kan se vad kristallkulan visar.
the symbol	symbolen
the palm	handflatan
She knows what the symbol in the palm means.	Hon vet vad symbolen i handflatan betyder.
the destiny	ödet
Since destiny is secret, we must interpret what she says.	Eftersom ödet är hemligt måste vi tolka vad hon säger.
mysterious	mystisk
the prophecy	spådomen
The fortune teller sits in front of the table and explains what the mysterious prophecy means.	Spådamen sitter framför bordet och förklarar vad den mystiska spådomen innebär.
the zodiac sign	stjärntecknet
I asked her what the zodiac sign means.	Jag frågade henne vad stjärntecknet betyder.
hidden	dold
the spirit world	andevärlden
The hidden symbol shows what the spirit world wants to tell.	Den dolda symbolen visar vad andevärlden vill berätta.
We put our hands next to the crystal ball and listen to what the prophecy says.	Vi lägger händerna bredvid kristallkulan och lyssnar på vad spådomen säger.
We do not see what the spirit world hides behind the closed door.	Vi ser inte vad andevärlden gömmer bakom den stängda dörren.
Can you tell me what you see in my palm?	Kan du berätta för mig vad du ser i min handflata?
He does not understand what the zodiac sign reveals.	Han förstår inte vad stjärntecknet avslöjar.
The mysterious fortune teller sees what the hidden fate means.	Den mystiska spådamen ser vad det dolda ödet betyder.