Breakdown of Naturligtvis vill jag hjälpa dig, men jag har inte tid.
jag
I
inte
not
hjälpa
to help
ha
to have
vilja
to want to
dig
you (singular)
men
but
tiden
the time
naturligtvis
naturally
Questions & Answers about Naturligtvis vill jag hjälpa dig, men jag har inte tid.
Why is the word order vill jag instead of jag vill?
Because naturligtvis takes up the first position in the sentence. Swedish uses the V2 (verb-second) rule, meaning the verb (vill) must come in the second position. This pushes the subject (jag) to the third position.
Can I place naturligtvis somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes, you can start with the subject instead. In that case, the sentence adverb goes after the first verb: Jag vill naturligtvis hjälpa dig. Putting it at the very beginning just adds more emphasis to the word naturally.
Why does the sentence use inte tid instead of ingen tid (no time)?
While ingen tid is grammatically possible, att inte ha tid is the standard, fixed expression in Swedish for not having time. It sounds much more natural to native speakers than using ingen.
Why is there no att (to) before hjälpa?
Vill (want) acts as a modal verb here. In Swedish, modal verbs are followed directly by the infinitive form of the next verb without using att, similar to how you say I can help or I must help in English.
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