Learn Swedish: Ibland cyklar han till skolan. - Sometimes he cycles to the school.

Ibland cyklar han till skolan.

Sometimes he cycles to the school.

Breakdown of Ibland cyklar han till skolan.

to (direction, destination)

Questions & Answers about Ibland cyklar han till skolan.

Why does the sentence say cyklar han (cycles he) instead of han cyklar (he cycles)?

This is because of the V2 (verb-second) rule. In Swedish, the verb must be the second block of information in a main sentence. Since the time adverb Ibland takes up the first spot, the verb cyklar has to come next, pushing the subject han to the third spot.

Does ibland work just like idag and nu?

Exactly. Ibland translates to sometimes. Just like the time words you are learning right now, putting it at the beginning of the sentence puts the focus on when the action happens and tells the verb to step into that second position.

Why does the word for school end in -n here?

The base word is skola (a school). Adding the -n at the end makes it definite, meaning skolan translates to the school. Instead of using a separate word for the in front, Swedish usually attaches it to the end of the noun.

Can cyklar also mean is cycling?

Yes! Swedish does not have a separate tense for things happening right now. Depending on the context, cyklar translates to cycles, is cycling, or even does cycle.