Learn Swedish: Nej, hunden är här.

To ask a yes/no question in Swedish, you just put the verb first. By swapping the subject (hunden) and the verb (är), you get Är hunden här? (Is the dog here?). This is the exact V1 word order you are focusing on in this lesson!

Why is the word hunden used instead of just hund?

In Swedish, the word for 'the' is usually attached to the end of the noun rather than being a separate word. Since 'a dog' is en hund, adding -en to the end gives you hunden (the dog).

Doesn't the verb have to be the second word in a Swedish sentence? Why doesn't Nej count as the first position here?

Swedish does use the V2 rule, meaning the verb is usually in the second position. However, introductory words like ja (yes) and nej (no) that are set off by commas sit outside the main sentence and do not count. Therefore, hunden is position 1, and the verb är is correctly in position 2.

Is här related to the Swedish word for 'there'?

Yes! Just like in English, they are a matching pair. Här means 'here' (close to you) and där means 'there' (further away).