How Often, Swedish A1 lesson

What you will learn

You can say how often you do something with alltid, ofta, ibland and aldrig.

Subject	Verb	How often	The rest
Jag	äter	alltid	frukost.
Marta	tränar	ofta	på kvällen.
Vi	städar	ibland	på lördagar.
Hen	dricker	aldrig	kaffe.

In a statement that starts with the subject, these words come right after the verb. That is the same place as inte.

Aldrig means not ever, so do not add inte. Hen dricker aldrig kaffe already says no.

Ibland often comes first or at the end too.

Swedish	English
Ibland sover jag till nio.	Sometimes I sleep until nine.
Jag lagar mat ibland.	I cook sometimes.

When ibland comes first, the verb comes next, just as after a time word.

First	Verb	Subject	How often	The rest
På morgonen	dricker	jag	alltid	te.
På söndagar	sover	vi	ofta	till tio.

When the time comes first, the subject follows the verb. The how often word then comes after the subject, just like inte.

Hur means how, so Hur ofta asks how often. You can answer with a how often word, with varje, or with a day that ends in ar, such as på måndagar.

Swedish	English
Jag vaknar tidigt.	I wake up early.
Han somnar sent.	He falls asleep late.

Tidigt means early and sent means late. In these sentences they come at the end.

Not like this	Like this	Why
Jag aldrig dricker kaffe.	Jag dricker aldrig kaffe.	Aldrig comes after the verb.
Jag dricker inte aldrig kaffe.	Jag dricker aldrig kaffe.	Aldrig already means not ever.
På kvällen jag läser ofta.	På kvällen läser jag ofta.	When the time comes first, the verb comes next.
Vad ofta tränar du?	Hur ofta tränar du?	Hur means how. Vad means what.