Breakdown of Jag köper en ny tandborste var tredje månad.
jag
I
en
a, an (common)
köpa
to buy
ny
new
månaden
the month
tredje
third
tandborsten
the toothbrush
var
every (with ordinal)
Questions & Answers about Jag köper en ny tandborste var tredje månad.
Why do we use var here instead of vart or varje?
When saying things like 'every second' or 'every third', Swedish uses var for en-words and vart for ett-words. Since månad is an en-word (en månad), we use var. You cannot use varje together with ordinal numbers like tredje.
In English we often say 'every three months', but Swedish uses the singular månad. Why?
In Swedish, when you use var or vart plus an ordinal number (like tredje for 'third'), the noun must be singular. You are literally saying 'every third month' (var tredje månad).
Why is the adjective ny instead of nya?
Ny is the correct form because it describes a single, indefinite en-word (en tandborste). You would only use nya if the noun was plural (like nya tandborstar) or definite (like den nya tandborsten).
What happens to the verb if I move var tredje månad to the start of the sentence?
Swedish uses the V2 rule, meaning the verb must always come in the second position in a main clause. If you start with the time phrase, the subject and verb must swap places: Var tredje månad köper jag en ny tandborste.
Learn Jag köper en ny tandborste var tredje månad 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