Breakdown of Tulltjänstemannen frågade varifrån jag kom.
jag
I
komma
to come
fråga
to ask
varifrån
from where
tulltjänstemannen
the customs officer
Questions & Answers about Tulltjänstemannen frågade varifrån jag kom.
Could I split up varifrån and say var jag kom ifrån instead?
In casual spoken Swedish, it is very common to split the words and put ifrån at the end of the clause. However, keeping varifrån together as a single interrogative adverb at the start of the clause is the standard, most proper way to write it, which is why it is used here.
Why is the word order jag kom instead of the inverted kom jag?
Because this is an indirect question, which acts as a subclause. In a direct question, the verb comes before the subject (Varifrån kom jag?). But in a subclause, the subject always comes before the verb, giving us varifrån jag kom.
How exactly is the word tulltjänstemannen formed?
It is a compound of tull (customs) and tjänsteman (official or white-collar worker). The ending -nen is the singular definite suffix (the officer). Learners sometimes confuse this with the plural, but the plural 'the officers' would be spelled and pronounced slightly differently: tulltjänstemännen.
Why does the sentence use the simple past kom instead of the past perfect hade kommit?
When turning a direct question like 'Where are you coming from?' (Varifrån kommer du?) into reported speech in the past, Swedish typically shifts the present tense verb (kommer) into the simple past (kom) to match the tense of the main verb (frågade). Using hade kommit would imply the officer asked about a much earlier, already completed trip.
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