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Han hörde ljudet komma uppifrån.

Han hörde ljudet komma uppifrån.
He heard the sound come from above.
From Lesson 230:Adverbs of spatial origin (-ifrån)·Swedish

Breakdown of Han hörde ljudet komma uppifrån.

han
he
komma
to come
höra
to hear
ljudet
the sound
uppifrån
from above

Questions & Answers about Han hörde ljudet komma uppifrån.

How exactly does uppifrån mean 'from above'?
It is made by combining upp (up) with the suffix -ifrån (from). In Swedish, when you want to show that something originates from a certain direction or location, you attach -ifrån to the end of a spatial word instead of putting från in front of it.
Can I just say från uppe instead of uppifrån?
No, that would sound unnatural in Swedish. You generally cannot use the standalone preposition från immediately before location adverbs like uppe (up/above) or nere (down/below). You must fuse them into one word using the -ifrån suffix.
Why is there no att before komma?
Just like in English, verbs of perception (like hearing, seeing, or feeling) take a bare infinitive without att (to). Because han hörde means 'he heard', the following verb simply becomes komma (come) instead of att komma (to come).
Why does the sentence use ljudet rather than ljuden?
Ljudet is the singular definite form ('the sound') of ett ljud. If he had heard multiple sounds ('the sounds'), it would be ljuden. As an ett-word that ends in a consonant, it takes -et for the singular 'the' and -en for the plural 'the'.

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