Learn Swedish: Har kunden alltid varit nöjd? - Has the customer always been satisfied?

In Swedish questions, the verb and subject swap places, and short sentence adverbs like alltid (always) or inte (not) are placed immediately after the subject. The order here is: Verb (Har) + Subject (kunden) + Adverb (alltid).

Why use the form varit instead of vara?

Varit is the supine form of the verb "to be" (att vara). In Swedish, just like in English, you must use this specific form after the helping verb har (has/have) to create the present perfect tense (har varit = has been).

Why is the adjective nöjd used without any special endings?

Adjectives must match the noun they describe. Because en kund (a customer) is a singular en-word, the adjective takes its basic dictionary form, nöjd. If the subject were plural, like "the customers" (kunderna), the adjective would need an -a ending: nöjda.

How do we know kunden means "the customer" and not "a customer"?

The base word is en kund (a customer). Swedish creates the definite "the" form by attaching the article to the end of the noun as a suffix, making it kunden (the customer).