A2 Pronouns 5 min read かんたん

Indirect Object

Use the object form of the pronoun (mig, dig, honom, henne, oss, er, dem) to show who receives the action.
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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.
Subject + Verb + Indirect Object (Pronoun) + Direct Object

Overview

## Overview
In Swedish, the indirect object is the person or thing that receives the direct object. Unlike languages like German or Latin, Swedish doesn't change the form of the pronoun based on the case (dative vs. accusative).
Instead, we use the standard object forms: mig, dig, honom, henne, oss, er, dem. When you want to say 'I give him a book', you simply place the pronoun honom immediately after the verb. This makes Swedish grammar significantly more accessible than many other European languages.
Understanding this structure is essential for building natural-sounding sentences. Whether you are ordering a coffee for a friend or explaining a task to a colleague, you will rely on these pronouns constantly. Remember that the word order is quite strict: Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object.
If you want to emphasize the recipient, you can use the preposition till (to), which allows you to move the recipient to the end of the sentence. This flexibility is a hallmark of Swedish syntax.
## How to Form It
To form a sentence with an indirect object, follow the standard SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) pattern. The indirect object pronoun acts as the 'receiver'.
  1. 1Identify the subject: Jag (I).
  2. 2Identify the verb: ger (give).
  3. 3Place the indirect object pronoun: honom (him).
  4. 4Place the direct object: boken (the book).
Result: Jag ger honom boken.
If you prefer to use the preposition till, the order changes: Jag ger boken till honom. Both are grammatically correct, but the first is more common in everyday speech. For negative sentences, add inte after the verb: Jag ger honom inte boken. For questions, invert the subject and verb: Ger du honom boken?
## When to Use It
You will use indirect objects in almost every social interaction. When texting, you might say 'Kan du skicka mig bilden?' (Can you send me the picture?). In a professional setting, you might say 'Jag skickar dig rapporten' (I am sending you the report).
When traveling, you might ask a local 'Kan du visa mig vägen?' (Can you show me the way?). These patterns are vital for clear communication. In food delivery apps or ordering situations, you might say 'Ge mig en kaffe' (Give me a coffee).
Mastering this allows you to express needs and interactions with others efficiently.
## Common Mistakes
The most common mistake is confusing the subject and object forms. For example, using 'han' (he) instead of 'honom' (him). Another mistake is incorrect word order.
Wrong: Jag ger boken honom. (Incorrect placement)
Correct: Jag ger honom boken.
Wrong: Jag ger han boken. (Using subject pronoun instead of object)
Correct: Jag ger honom boken.
Always ensure you are using the object form of the pronoun, and keep the indirect object close to the verb unless using till.
## How It's Different From...
Learners often confuse the indirect object with the direct object. The direct object is the thing being acted upon (the book), while the indirect object is the person receiving it (him). In English, we have 'me', 'him', 'her', which are the same as Swedish object pronouns.
The main difference is that Swedish is very strict about word order. In English, we can sometimes omit the preposition 'to', but in Swedish, the word order is the primary indicator of the indirect object's role. Unlike German, there is no dative case to memorize, which makes Swedish much simpler.
## CEFR-Level Explanations
A1: In Swedish, we use pronouns to show who gets something. If you give a book to me, you say 'Du ger mig boken'. It is easy! Just put the person after the verb.
A2: At this level, you should know the object pronouns: mig, dig, honom, henne, oss, er, dem. Use them to indicate the recipient of an action. Remember that you can also use 'till' to make the sentence clearer if you have a long direct object.
B1: Intermediate learners should master the placement of indirect objects. While the standard order is Verb-Indirect-Direct, you can shift focus by using the 'till' construction. Note that in spoken Swedish, pronouns are often reduced or unstressed, but the grammatical structure remains rigid.
B2: At the B2 level, you should recognize how indirect objects interact with reflexive verbs and passive constructions. While the dative case is absent, the functional equivalent is pervasive. Pay attention to how Swedish speakers use these pronouns to maintain flow in complex sentences.
C1: Advanced users should observe the pragmatic nuances of indirect object placement. The choice between the double-object construction and the prepositional phrase can signal subtle shifts in emphasis or formality. This is particularly relevant in literary or formal journalistic Swedish.
C2: Near-native mastery involves understanding the historical evolution of these pronouns and their role in dialectal variations. While standard Swedish is consistent, some regional dialects may show slight variations in pronoun usage or word order preferences. Mastery implies total comfort with these structures in all registers.

Meanings

The indirect object identifies the person or entity for whom or to whom an action is performed.

1

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

Reference table for Indirect Object
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.

フォーマル度スペクトル

フォーマル
Jag överlämnar boken till honom.

Jag överlämnar boken till honom. (Giving)

ニュートラル
Jag ger honom boken.

Jag ger honom boken. (Giving)

カジュアル
Jag ger honom boken.

Jag ger honom boken. (Giving)

スラング
Jag langar boken till honom.

Jag langar boken till honom. (Giving)

The Indirect Object Flow

Action

Recipient

  • mig me
  • honom him

Object

  • boken the book
  • pengar money
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Examples by Level

1

Han ger mig boken.

He gives me the book.

2

Hon köper dig en glass.

She buys you an ice cream.

3

Vi visar dem vägen.

We show them the way.

4

Jag ger henne blomman.

I give her the flower.

1

Kan du skicka mig mailet?

Can you send me the email?

2

Han berättar oss en historia.

He tells us a story.

3

Jag ger boken till honom.

I give the book to him.

4

Hon lånar er sin bil.

She lends you (plural) her car.

1

De lovade oss en lösning på problemet.

They promised us a solution to the problem.

2

Jag har köpt henne en present som hon verkligen gillar.

I have bought her a gift that she really likes.

3

Kan du förklara för mig hur det fungerar?

Can you explain to me how it works?

4

Han visade dem stolt sitt nya hus.

He proudly showed them his new house.

1

Det är viktigt att du ger dem tillräckligt med tid.

It is important that you give them enough time.

2

Hon skickade oss informationen via e-post.

She sent us the information via email.

3

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.

4

Han överlämnade boken till henne med ett leende.

He handed the book to her with a smile.

1

Det föll sig naturligt att erbjuda dem vår hjälp.

It felt natural to offer them our help.

2

Hon tilldelade honom ansvaret för projektet.

She assigned him the responsibility for the project.

3

Vi måste ge dem chansen att bevisa sin kompetens.

We must give them the chance to prove their competence.

4

Han förmedlade oss nyheten om vinsten.

He conveyed the news of the win to us.

1

Det ankommer på oss att ge dem de verktyg de behöver.

It falls upon us to give them the tools they need.

2

Hon skänkte honom en blick som sade allt.

She gave him a look that said everything.

3

Det vore klädsamt att ge dem ett erkännande för deras insats.

It would be appropriate to give them recognition for their effort.

4

Han tillskrev henne äran för framgången.

He attributed the credit for the success to her.

Easily Confused

Indirect Object 対 De vs Dem

Learners mix them up because they sound the same.

Indirect Object 対 Han vs Honom

Learners use subject form for objects.

Indirect Object 対 Direct vs Indirect Object

Learners don't know which is which.

よくある間違い

✗

Jag ger han boken.

✓

Jag ger honom boken.

Using subject pronoun 'han' instead of object 'honom'.
✗

Jag ger boken honom.

✓

Jag ger honom boken.

Incorrect word order.
✗

Han ger mig boken till.

✓

Han ger boken till mig.

Misplaced preposition.
✗

Jag ger dem boken.

✓

Jag ger dem boken.

Wait, this is correct. Mistake: using 'de' instead of 'dem'.
✗

Hon köper till mig en blomma.

✓

Hon köper mig en blomma.

Unnecessary preposition.
✗

Ger du henne den?

✓

Ger du henne den?

Correct, but learners often say 'Ger du till henne den?'.
✗

Jag visar er vägen.

✓

Jag visar er vägen.

Correct, but learners often use 'ni' instead of 'er'.
✗

Han förklarade för mig saken.

✓

Han förklarade saken för mig.

Clunky word order.
✗

Jag gav honom den.

✓

Jag gav honom den.

Correct, but learners struggle with pronoun clusters.
✗

Hon skickade oss den.

✓

Hon skickade oss den.

Correct, but learners often use 'vi' instead of 'oss'.
✗

Det är honom jag ger boken.

✓

Det är honom jag ger boken.

Correct, but learners often use 'han' in cleft sentences.
✗

Jag tilldelade han rollen.

✓

Jag tilldelade honom rollen.

Subject pronoun error in formal context.
✗

De gav oss den.

✓

De gav oss den.

Correct, but learners often struggle with natural flow.

Sentence Patterns

Jag ger ___ boken.

Kan du visa ___ vägen?

Jag skickar ___ ett mail.

Hon gav ___ chansen att vinna.

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Skicka mig bilden!

Work email very common

Jag skickar dig rapporten.

Ordering food common

Ge mig en kaffe.

Travel common

Visa mig vägen.

Social media common

Tagga mig i bilden.

Job interview occasional

Jag kan ge er mer information.

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💡

Word Order is Key

Always put the indirect object before the direct object.
⚠️

Don't use Subject Pronouns

Never use 'han' or 'hon' as an object.
🎯

Use 'till' for Emphasis

If the direct object is long, use 'till' to move the indirect object to the end.
💬

Be Polite

In formal settings, use 'er' instead of 'dig' for 'you'.

Smart Tips

Use 'till' to move the person to the end of the sentence.

Jag ger honom boken. → Jag ger boken till honom.

Check if they are the receiver of the action.

Jag ger han boken. → Jag ger honom boken.

Use 'er' instead of 'dig' when addressing someone politely.

Jag ger dig rapporten. → Jag ger er rapporten.

If you can replace it with 'vi' (we), use 'de'. If you can replace it with 'oss' (us), use 'dem'.

De ger boken till de. → De ger boken till dem.

発音

hon-om

Pronoun reduction

In fast speech, 'honom' is often pronounced 'hon'm'.

dom

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

migdighonomhenneosserdem

チャレンジ

Write 5 sentences using different pronouns today.

文化メモ

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

Skriv om en present du gav till någon.
Beskriv en gång när någon hjälpte dig.
Vad skulle du ge till din familj om du vann pengar?
Reflektera över en lärare som gav dig bra råd.
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Test Yourself

Fill in the correct pronoun.

Jag ger ___ (him) boken.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: honom
Honom is the object form for him.
Choose the correct sentence. 選択問題

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jag ger honom boken.
Standard word order is SVO.
Fix the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Jag ger han boken.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jag ger honom boken.
Use object form.
Rewrite using 'till'. Sentence Transformation

Jag ger honom boken.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jag ger boken till honom.
Prepositional phrase moves to the end.
Match the pronoun. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: me - mig
Correct mapping.
Select the correct plural form. 選択問題

Jag ger ___ (them) boken.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: dem
Dem is the object form.
Fill in the blank.

Kan du visa ___ (us) vägen?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: oss
Oss is the object form.
Order the words. Sentence Building

ger / boken / honom / jag

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jag ger honom boken.
Standard order.

Score: /8

練習問題

8 exercises
Fill in the correct pronoun.

Jag ger ___ (him) boken.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: honom
Honom is the object form for him.
Choose the correct sentence. 選択問題

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jag ger honom boken.
Standard word order is SVO.
Fix the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Jag ger han boken.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jag ger honom boken.
Use object form.
Rewrite using 'till'. Sentence Transformation

Jag ger honom boken.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jag ger boken till honom.
Prepositional phrase moves to the end.
Match the pronoun. Match Pairs

Match the English to Swedish.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: me - mig
Correct mapping.
Select the correct plural form. 選択問題

Jag ger ___ (them) boken.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: dem
Dem is the object form.
Fill in the blank.

Kan du visa ___ (us) vägen?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: oss
Oss is the object form.
Order the words. Sentence Building

ger / boken / honom / jag

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jag ger honom boken.
Standard order.

Score: /8

よくある質問 (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.

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In Other Languages

Spanish moderate

Le/Les

Swedish uses the same pronoun for both direct and indirect objects.

French moderate

Lui/Leur

Swedish does not distinguish indirect pronouns from direct ones.

German low

Dative case

Swedish has no dative case.

Japanese low

Ni particle

Swedish uses word order.

Arabic low

Suffixes

Swedish uses independent pronouns.

Chinese low

Prepositions

Swedish uses word order.

Previous
Direct Object
Next
Pronoun Placement

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