Learn Swedish: I gymnasiet brukade jag dricka kaffe med min klasskamrat. - In high school, I used to drink coffee with my classmate.

I gymnasiet brukade jag dricka kaffe med min klasskamrat.

In high school, I used to drink coffee with my classmate.

Breakdown of I gymnasiet brukade jag dricka kaffe med min klasskamrat.

Questions & Answers about I gymnasiet brukade jag dricka kaffe med min klasskamrat.

Why is there no word for 'to' after brukade like there is in English ('used to')?

In Swedish, the verb bruka (which becomes brukade in the past tense to mean 'used to') acts like a helping verb. It is always followed directly by the bare infinitive of the main verb, which is dricka here. You never use the infinitive marker att ('to') after it.

Why does the sentence say brukade jag instead of jag brukade?

This is the V2 (verb-second) rule in action! The sentence starts with the time and place phrase I gymnasiet ('In high school'). Because that phrase takes up the first position in the sentence, the verb brukade must come in the second position, pushing the subject jag to the third position.

Is gymnasiet a place where you work out?

No, gymnasiet means upper secondary school, which is roughly equivalent to high school. If you want to talk about a fitness center, the word is ett gym. Notice that Swedish uses the definite form here (gymnasiet, literally 'the high school'), which is standard when talking generally about attending a type of school, just like saying i skolan.

Why is it min klasskamrat and not the definite form min klasskamraten?