Questions & Answers about Erik frågade vad adressen egentligen var.
Why does egentligen come before the verb var?
Because the second half of the sentence is an indirect question, which acts as a subordinate clause. In Swedish subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like egentligen (actually) or inte (not) must be placed before the verb. If this were a direct question, the verb would come first: Vad var adressen egentligen?
Why isn't it vad som in this sentence? I've seen som added to indirect questions before.
You only add som when the question word is the subject of the indirect question (for example, "He asked what happened"). In this sentence, the subject of the indirect question is adressen (the address), so you just use vad by itself.
How does vad function in this sentence?
Here, vad (what) acts as a bridge word. It turns what was originally a direct question ("What is the address?") into a subordinate clause that connects directly to the main clause Erik frågade (Erik asked).
What nuance does egentligen add to the sentence?
Egentligen means "actually" or "really." Adding it here implies that there was already some confusion, a previous mistake, or a discussion about the address, and Erik is asking to clarify the true facts.