Chapter 6, lesson 51

When and Who

Ask when something happens with när and who does something with vem, reply with a time or a person, and see how han or honom changes what a question with vem means.

What you will learn

You can ask when something happens and who does something, and answer with a time or a person.

När

QuestionAnswerEnglish
När börjar matchen?Klockan sex.When does the match start? At six.
När kommer Greta?I morgon.When is Greta coming? Tomorrow.
När ska vi fika?På söndag.When shall we have a coffee? On Sunday.

När means when. It works like vad, var and varifrån. När comes first, then the verb, then the subject. The answer is often just a time, such as klockan sex, i morgon or på söndag.

Vem

QuestionAnswerEnglish
Vem kommer på lördag?Noor och Tariq.Who is coming on Saturday? Noor and Tariq.
Vem har nyckeln?Oskar.Who has the key? Oskar.
Vem ringer du?Jag ringer Greta.Who are you calling? I am calling Greta.
Vem ska du bjuda in?Hela kursen.Who are you going to invite? The whole course.

Vem means who. In Vem kommer? and Vem har nyckeln? vem is the person who does the action. The verb then comes right after vem, and there is no other subject.

In Vem ringer du? and Vem ska du bjuda in? du does the action, and vem is the person it happens to. The subject then comes after the verb, just as after när.

Who does what

SwedishEnglish
Vem hämtar han?Who is he picking up?
Vem hämtar honom?Who is picking him up?

In the first question han does the action, so it asks who he picks up. In the second question honom is the person the action happens to, so it asks who picks him up. The form of the pronoun shows the meaning.

Vem är det?

On the phone or at the door, Vem är det? asks who it is. The answer is Det är and a name, as in Det är Hugo.

Common mistakes

Not like thisLike thisWhy
När du kommer?När kommer du?The verb comes right after när.
Vem kommer han?Vem kommer?When vem does the action, there is no other subject.
Var börjar filmen? when you want a timeNär börjar filmen?Var asks where. När asks when.
Vem du ringer?Vem ringer du?The verb comes right after vem.

Check yourself

A few questions from the Learning Path on this lesson. Answer, then check, or show the answer with its explanation.

  1. Vad vill vi veta i "Vem hämtar henne?"?
  2. Fyll i frågan när någon knackar på dörren.

    är det?

  3. Vilken fråga betyder who is calling her?
  4. Det väntade svaret är På tisdag. Välj frågeord bland de givna orden.

    Choose from När, Vem, Var

    ska vi träffas?

  5. Välj betydelsen av en match.
  6. Välj betydelsen av bjuda in.

How this lesson connects

Learning Path

Practice and review

Practice this lesson, check your answers and review mistakes in a separate round. Track your results as you work through the course.

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