Breakdown of När vattnet kokar, tillsätter man mjölet.
vattnet
the water
när
when
man
one, you (people in general)
mjölet
the flour
tillsätta
to add
koka
to boil
Questions & Answers about När vattnet kokar, tillsätter man mjölet.
Why is the word order tillsätter man instead of man tillsätter?
This is the V2 (verb-second) rule in action! In Swedish, the verb in a main clause must come second. Because the entire first part of the sentence (När vattnet kokar) acts as position number one, the main verb (tillsätter) must come immediately after it to take position number two. This forces the subject (man) to move after the verb.
What does the pronoun man mean here? Could I use du?
Man translates to "one" or the general "you" (as in "when the water boils, you add the flour"). It is extremely common in Swedish recipes, manuals, and general instructions. You could theoretically use du, but man sounds much more natural for general rules that apply to anyone doing the cooking.
The verb tillsätter means "adds". Can I use adderar instead?
No, tillsätter is specifically used for adding an ingredient to a recipe or mixture. The verb adderar is strictly used for mathematics (adding numbers together), while lägger till is used for adding something to a list, a text, or a conversation.
Why does the sentence use vattnet and mjölet instead of just vatten and mjöl?
Both vatten (water) and mjöl (flour) are ett-words. To make them definite ("the water", "the flour"), we add the suffix -et to the end. In Swedish instructions, it is very common to use the definite form because you are referring to the specific ingredients you already have measured out in front of you.
Learn När vattnet kokar, tillsätter man mjölet and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free