Breakdown of Äter du alltid på restaurangen?
du
you (singular)
alltid
always
äta
to eat
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
Questions & Answers about Äter du alltid på restaurangen?
Why is alltid placed after du in this sentence?
Adverbs of frequency like alltid usually come right after the verb in a normal statement (Du äter alltid...). But in a question, the verb (Äter) and subject (du) swap places, which pushes the adverb to sit right after the subject instead.
Why does the sentence start with the verb Äter?
To form a yes/no question in Swedish, you simply put the verb first. English uses helper verbs like 'Do' for this (Do you always eat...?), but Swedish just says Äter du alltid...? (Eat you always...?).
Why does it say restaurangen instead of just restaurang?
Restaurang means a restaurant, but this sentence specifies 'the' restaurant. In Swedish, you do not use a separate word for 'the' like we do in English. Instead, you add an ending to the noun. For 'en' words like this one, you add -en to the end to make restaurangen.
Why use the preposition på if they are eating inside the restaurant?
While på often translates to 'on', it is also the standard word for 'at' when talking about public places, businesses, and institutions. You say på restaurangen (at the restaurant) just like you would say på banken (at the bank).