What you will learn
You can say which way someone goes, such as through a park, past a church or over a bridge. You can also tell being somewhere from going somewhere, with var or vart, här or hit, där or dit and hemma or hem.
Small words for going places
| Word | English | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| till | to | Vi går till torget. | We walk to the square. |
| från | from | Hon kommer från stationen. | She is coming from the station. |
| genom | through | Vi går genom parken. | We walk through the park. |
| förbi | past | Tariq går förbi hotellet. | Tariq walks past the hotel. |
| över | over, across | Gå över gatan här. | Cross the street here. |
| mot | toward | Hon cyklar mot centrum. | She is cycling toward the town center. |
| efter | after | Sväng till höger efter bron. | Turn right after the bridge. |
Most of these words come before a place in the definite form, as in genom parken, förbi kyrkan and över bron. Names and centrum have no ending, as in till Stockholm and till centrum.
Från and till often go together. Elin går från stationen till torget means that she walks from the station to the square.
In clock times över means past, as in kvart över sju, but with a place it means over or across. Efter means after a place on your way.
Where or where to
| Being somewhere | Going somewhere | English |
|---|---|---|
| var | vart | where, where to |
| här | hit | here, to this place |
| där | dit | there, to that place |
| hemma | hem | at home, home |
English often uses the same word for both. Swedish has one word for being in a place and another for moving to it. Look at the verb. Är and bor say where someone is. Går, åker, cyklar and kommer say where someone is going.
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| Var är Kenji? Han är här. | Where is Kenji? He is here. |
| Vart åker ni? Vi åker till Stockholm. | Where are you going? We are going to Stockholm. |
| Kom hit, Ida! | Come here, Ida! |
| Biblioteket? Jag går dit nu. | The library? I am walking there now. |
| Marta är hemma. | Marta is at home. |
| Marta går hem. | Marta is walking home. |
In speech you sometimes hear var in both meanings. In writing, keep var for being somewhere and vart for going somewhere.
One question you already know keeps var. Var kommer du ifrån? asks where someone comes from, not where someone is going, so it uses var, just like Varifrån kommer du?
Common mistakes
| Not like this | Like this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Vi går genom bron. | Vi går över bron. | You go over a bridge. Genom is for going through something, such as a park. |
| Vart åker du? | Åker is a movement, so the question word is vart. | |
| Jag åker hemma. | Jag åker hem. | Åker is a movement, so use hem. Hemma is for being at home. |
| Kom här! | Kom hit! | Kom is a movement to this place, so use hit. |