Indirect Object
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Indirect objects tell us who receives the action, and in Swedish, we use the same object pronouns as direct objects.
- The indirect object usually follows the verb directly: 'Jag ger honom boken' (I give him the book).
- If you use 'till' (to), the pronoun moves after the direct object: 'Jag ger boken till honom'.
- Swedish does not have a separate dative case; pronouns simply function as objects.
Meanings
The indirect object identifies the person or entity for whom or to whom an action is performed.
Recipient of action
The person receiving the benefit of a verb.
“Han ger mig en present.”
“Hon visar oss vägen.”
Object Pronouns in Swedish
| Subject | Object (Indirect/Direct) |
|---|---|
| Jag | mig |
| Du | dig |
| Han | honom |
| Hon | henne |
| Den/Det | den/det |
| Vi | oss |
| Ni | er |
| De | dem |
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | S + V + IO + DO | Jag ger honom boken. |
| Negative | S + V + inte + IO + DO | Jag ger honom inte boken. |
| Question | V + S + IO + DO? | Ger du honom boken? |
| Prepositional | S + V + DO + till + IO | Jag ger boken till honom. |
| Short Answer | Ja, jag ger honom den. | Ja, jag ger honom den. |
| Plural | S + V + dem + DO | Jag ger dem presenten. |
طیف رسمیت
Jag överlämnar boken till honom. (Giving)
Jag ger honom boken. (Giving)
Jag ger honom boken. (Giving)
Jag langar boken till honom. (Giving)
The Indirect Object Flow
Recipient
- mig me
- honom him
Object
- boken the book
- pengar money
Examples by Level
Han ger mig boken.
He gives me the book.
Hon köper dig en glass.
She buys you an ice cream.
Vi visar dem vägen.
We show them the way.
Jag ger henne blomman.
I give her the flower.
Kan du skicka mig mailet?
Can you send me the email?
Han berättar oss en historia.
He tells us a story.
Jag ger boken till honom.
I give the book to him.
Hon lånar er sin bil.
She lends you (plural) her car.
De lovade oss en lösning på problemet.
They promised us a solution to the problem.
Jag har köpt henne en present som hon verkligen gillar.
I have bought her a gift that she really likes.
Kan du förklara för mig hur det fungerar?
Can you explain to me how it works?
Han visade dem stolt sitt nya hus.
He proudly showed them his new house.
Det är viktigt att du ger dem tillräckligt med tid.
It is important that you give them enough time.
Hon skickade oss informationen via e-post.
She sent us the information via email.
Jag skulle vilja visa dig hur man gör detta på rätt sätt.
I would like to show you how to do this the right way.
Han överlämnade boken till henne med ett leende.
He handed the book to her with a smile.
Det föll sig naturligt att erbjuda dem vår hjälp.
It felt natural to offer them our help.
Hon tilldelade honom ansvaret för projektet.
She assigned him the responsibility for the project.
Vi måste ge dem chansen att bevisa sin kompetens.
We must give them the chance to prove their competence.
Han förmedlade oss nyheten om vinsten.
He conveyed the news of the win to us.
Det ankommer på oss att ge dem de verktyg de behöver.
It falls upon us to give them the tools they need.
Hon skänkte honom en blick som sade allt.
She gave him a look that said everything.
Det vore klädsamt att ge dem ett erkännande för deras insats.
It would be appropriate to give them recognition for their effort.
Han tillskrev henne äran för framgången.
He attributed the credit for the success to her.
Easily Confused
Learners mix them up because they sound the same.
Learners use subject form for objects.
Learners don't know which is which.
اشتباهات رایج
Jag ger han boken.
Jag ger honom boken.
Jag ger boken honom.
Jag ger honom boken.
Han ger mig boken till.
Han ger boken till mig.
Jag ger dem boken.
Jag ger dem boken.
Hon köper till mig en blomma.
Hon köper mig en blomma.
Ger du henne den?
Ger du henne den?
Jag visar er vägen.
Jag visar er vägen.
Han förklarade för mig saken.
Han förklarade saken för mig.
Jag gav honom den.
Jag gav honom den.
Hon skickade oss den.
Hon skickade oss den.
Det är honom jag ger boken.
Det är honom jag ger boken.
Jag tilldelade han rollen.
Jag tilldelade honom rollen.
De gav oss den.
De gav oss den.
Sentence Patterns
Jag ger ___ boken.
Kan du visa ___ vägen?
Jag skickar ___ ett mail.
Hon gav ___ chansen att vinna.
Real World Usage
Skicka mig bilden!
Jag skickar dig rapporten.
Ge mig en kaffe.
Visa mig vägen.
Tagga mig i bilden.
Jag kan ge er mer information.
Word Order is Key
Don't use Subject Pronouns
Use 'till' for Emphasis
Be Polite
Smart Tips
Use 'till' to move the person to the end of the sentence.
Check if they are the receiver of the action.
Use 'er' instead of 'dig' when addressing someone politely.
If you can replace it with 'vi' (we), use 'de'. If you can replace it with 'oss' (us), use 'dem'.
تلفظ
Pronoun reduction
In fast speech, 'honom' is often pronounced 'hon'm'.
Dem/De
In spoken Swedish, both 'de' and 'dem' are pronounced 'dom'.
Statement
Jag ger honom boken. ↘
Falling intonation for facts.
Question
Ger du honom boken? ↗
Rising intonation for questions.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
Remember 'M-D-H-H-O-E-D' (Mig, Dig, Honom, Henne, Oss, Er, Dem).
Visual Association
Imagine a waiter (the verb) handing a plate (the direct object) to a customer (the indirect object). The customer is always placed right next to the waiter.
Rhyme
Mig and dig, him and her, oss and er, dem is the stir.
Story
I (Jag) give (ger) him (honom) a gift (en present). He (Han) smiles at me (mig). We (Vi) are happy.
Word Web
چالش
Write 5 sentences using different pronouns today.
نکات فرهنگی
Swedes value directness, but using the correct pronoun shows respect and clarity.
They might use slightly different word order in some dialects.
Very common to use 'dom' for both 'de' and 'dem'.
Swedish pronouns evolved from Old Norse.
Conversation Starters
Vad ger du din vän i present?
Kan du visa mig hur man gör kaffe?
Vem skickade dig det här mailet?
Skulle du kunna ge mig lite råd?
Journal Prompts
Test Yourself
Jag ger ___ (him) boken.
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
Jag ger han boken.
Jag ger honom boken.
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
Jag ger ___ (them) boken.
Kan du visa ___ (us) vägen?
ger / boken / honom / jag
Score: /8
تمرینهای عملی
8 exercisesJag ger ___ (him) boken.
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
Jag ger han boken.
Jag ger honom boken.
Match the English to Swedish.
Jag ger ___ (them) boken.
Kan du visa ___ (us) vägen?
ger / boken / honom / jag
Score: /8
سوالات متداول (8)
Because 'honom' is the object form, used when the person receives the action.
Yes, it's often used for emphasis, but it's not always necessary.
No, Swedish lost its case system centuries ago.
You say 'Ge mig den'.
Yes, as an object. In speech, it's pronounced 'dom'.
Yes, it's the formal version of 'dig'.
The indirect object (person) usually comes first.
Very few, mostly with specific verbs that require prepositions.
In Other Languages
Le/Les
Swedish uses the same pronoun for both direct and indirect objects.
Lui/Leur
Swedish does not distinguish indirect pronouns from direct ones.
Dative case
Swedish has no dative case.
Ni particle
Swedish uses word order.
Suffixes
Swedish uses independent pronouns.
Prepositions
Swedish uses word order.
