Questions & Answers about Vi stannar ute när huset brinner.
Does the word när change the word order in the second part of the sentence?
När (when) is a subordinating conjunction, which means it starts a dependent clause. In these types of clauses, the subject comes immediately after the conjunction. So here, the subject huset is placed right after när, followed by the verb brinner.
What happens to the word order if we start the sentence with när huset brinner?
If you put the när clause first, it counts as the first block of information in the main sentence. Because Swedish follows the "V2 rule" (the main verb must be in the second position), the main verb stannar has to come right after the comma: När huset brinner, stannar vi ute.
Why is it just brinner when the English translation says "is burning"?
Swedish doesn't have a separate verb form for ongoing actions like the English "-ing" form. The present tense brinner means both "burns" and "is burning". You rely on the context to know which one makes the most sense in English.
Could I say Vi stannar ut instead of ute?
No, because Swedish distinguishes between location (being somewhere) and motion (going somewhere). Ute indicates a static location ("outside"), which fits perfectly with the verb stannar (stay). You would use ut for movement, like in Vi går ut (We go out).