Learn Swedish: Jag måste pendla till jobbet.

Jag måste pendla till jobbet.

I have to commute to work.

Breakdown of Jag måste pendla till jobbet.

to (direction, destination)

jobbet

the work

Questions & Answers about Jag måste pendla till jobbet.

If I wanted to add dessutom (furthermore) to the beginning of this sentence, how would it affect the word order?

Because dessutom is an adverb, placing it at the start of the sentence triggers the V2 rule (the verb must be the second piece of information). You have to swap the subject (jag) and the first verb (måste), which gives you: Dessutom måste jag pendla till jobbet.

Why is there no att before pendla, even though the English translation is 'to commute'?

Måste (must / have to) is a modal verb. In Swedish, modal verbs are followed directly by the infinitive form of the next verb without the infinitive marker att. Therefore, it is måste pendla, never måste att pendla.

Why does the sentence use the definite form jobbet (the work) when English just says 'to work'?

Swedish often uses the definite form for everyday locations or routines where English leaves the article out. When you talk about going to your workplace, you say till jobbet (literally 'to the job'). You will see this pattern in other phrases too, like being i skolan (in school) or på sjukhuset (in hospital).

Can I use pendla for commuting by car, or is it only for trains?