Breakdown of Först städar jag rummet, och sedan vilar jag.
jag
I
och
and
städa
to clean
rummet
the room
vila
to rest
först
first
sedan
then
Questions & Answers about Först städar jag rummet, och sedan vilar jag.
Why is the word order städar jag and vilar jag instead of jag städar and jag vilar?
In Swedish, the verb usually has to be the second piece of information in a sentence (this is called the V2 rule). Because we start the sentence with the time adverb först (first), the verb städar must come next, pushing the subject jag to the third spot. The exact same rule applies to the second part of the sentence: the adverb sedan (then) takes the first spot after the comma, so the verb vilar must come right before jag.
Are först and sedan the same type of words as idag or imorgon?
I sometimes hear people say sen instead of sedan. Are they the same thing?
Yes! Sen is just the short, everyday spoken version of sedan. They mean exactly the same thing. In written Swedish, you will often see sedan, but in spoken Swedish, almost everyone just says sen.
Why does the sentence use rummet instead of just rum?
Rummet means "the room", whereas rum just means "a room". In Swedish, the word for room is an ett-word (ett rum). To make an ett-word definite (to say "the"), you attach -et to the end of it.
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