Direct questions

Interrogative sentences start either with a question word or a verb. Starting with a question word, the predicate is placed second and the subject after that, which means that the word order is inverted:

Vad är kronans växelkurs mot euron just nu?

What’s the currency rate of the crown against the euro right now?

In interrogative sentences starting with a verb, the predicate is placed as first, which means that the order is inverted:

Pratar du svenska?

Do you speak Swedish?

If the interrogative sentence starts with a question word which also functions as a subject of the sentence, the word order is traditional. The subject (the question word vem in this case) is placed before the predicate (besökte):

Vem besökte Danmark senast?

Who visited Denmark last?

The most common question words include:

vad = what

var = where

varför = why

vem = who

när = when

hur = how

Indirect questions

Indirect questions are interrogative subordinate clauses with the subordinate clause word order (1. conjunction, 2. subject, 3. qualifier, 4. predicate). In indirect questions, the conjunction is replaced by a question word or the word om. Compare:

  • Direct question: Hur firar norrmän påsk?
  • Indirect question: Jag undrar hur norrmän firar påsk.

 If a direct question begins with a verb, an indirect question begins with om:

Vet du om Islands heta källor är värda ett besök?

Do you know if the Icelandic hot springs are worth a visit?

If a direct question begins with a question word that is also the subject or part of the sentence, the word som is added to the indirect question: 

  • Direct question: Vem var världens lyckligaste människor enligt den senaste undersökningen?
  • Indirect question: Jag undrar vem som var världens lyckligaste människor enligt den senaste undesökningen.
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