The short answer
Build a Swedish relative clause from two sentences that share a noun, replacing the repetition with som: jag känner kvinnan + kvinnan bor här becomes jag känner kvinnan som bor här. Som does not change for gender or number.
Merge two sentences
Write Jag har en granne. Grannen talar franska. Cross out the repeated noun and join the ideas: Jag har en granne som talar franska. Repeat with people, objects and places.
Add negation with the BIFF exercises: en granne som inte talar svenska. A relative clause is a subordinate clause.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Det är boken som jag köpte. | That is the book I bought. | |
| Hon är läraren som hjälper mig. | She is the teacher who helps me. |
Subject or object inside the clause
In mannen som ringde, som is the subject of ringde. In mannen som jag ringde, jag is the subject and som represents the object. Its form stays the same.
Build guessing games with Swedish demonstratives: det här är saken som....
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Vem är personen som du pratade med? | Who is the person you spoke to? |
Add length without losing order
Begin with a three-word relative clause and add one complement. Check the verb and any clause adverb before extending it again.
Finish with an Swedish -s passive: brevet som skickas i morgon. This structure appears constantly in written notices.
Delayed recall
Return to your guessing game two days later. Describe the same object with a new relative clause, proving that som has become a tool rather than a memorised sentence.
Questions people ask
- What does som mean in Swedish?
- In a relative clause, som often corresponds to who, that or which.
- Does som agree with the noun?
- No. Som stays the same with en nouns, ett nouns and plurals.
- Can som be omitted?
- It can sometimes be dropped when it is the object, but keeping it is the safer beginner pattern.
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