Questions & Answers about Varför gråter du?
Is varför related to the word var (where)?
Yes, historically! Varför is made up of var (where/what) and för (for). It literally means "what for"—very similar to how we sometimes ask "what did you do that for?" in English. Today, it simply translates as "why".
Why is there no word for "are" in the Swedish sentence?
Swedish doesn't have a separate "-ing" tense (like "are crying") for things happening right now. The present tense verb gråter covers both "cry" and "are crying". So, Varför gråter du? translates perfectly to "Why are you crying?" without needing an extra verb for "are".
Why is the verb gråter placed before du?
This happens because of the Swedish "V2 rule", which says the verb must be the second block of information in a main sentence. Since the question word Varför takes up spot number one, the verb gråter has to come right after it, pushing the subject du to the third spot.
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