Also/too placement
Swedish has several words for 'also' or 'too', like också, även, med, and till. Their placement in a sentence depends on the clause type, formality, and what is being emphasized.
How It Works
Additive focus particles add new, similar information to what has already been stated. Swedish has several options, each with its own rules for placement and register.
1. Också (Also/Too)
This is the most common and versatile additive particle. It can occupy the ordinary clause-adverbial position or stand next to a focused phrase.
- In the ordinary middle-field position of a declarative main clause,
ocksåfollows the finite verb. Compare the verb-second rule. It's a sentence adverbial.
Ex: Jag vill också ha en kanelbulle. (I also want a cinnamon bun.) - In an ordinary subordinate clause with middle-field
också, it precedes the finite verb. This is the pattern taught by the BIFF rule.
Ex: Han sa att han också ville ha en kanelbulle. (He said that he also wanted a cinnamon bun.)
To emphasize a specific part of the sentence, också can be moved to directly precede it. Placing a particle next to a focused phrase is not in itself fronting; when the whole phrase begins a declarative clause, compare fronting.
Ex: Också jag vill ha en kanelbulle. (I, too, want a cinnamon bun. - Emphasizes 'I')
2. Även (Also/Even)Även is more formal than också and is common in written language. It often replaces också at the beginning of a sentence or directly before the focused element.
- Även barnen tyckte om filmen. (Even the children liked the movie.)
- Vi erbjuder frukost och även lunch. (We offer breakfast and also lunch.)
3. Med (Also/Too - colloquial)Med is a very common, but informal, way to say 'too' or 'as well'. In its additive use it follows the focused phrase, which need not be at the end of the whole sentence. It should not be confused with its use in particle verbs like följa med (to accompany).
- - Jag är trött. - Jag med. (- I'm tired. - Me too.)
- Hon beställde pizza, så jag tog det med. (She ordered pizza, so I got that too.)
4. Till (More/Another)Till is used to mean 'more' or 'in addition'. In the quantity use practiced here it follows the quantity phrase: två stolar till. That phrase can occur inside a sentence, as in Vi behöver två stolar till i köket.
- Vill du ha en kopp kaffe till? (Do you want another cup of coffee?)
- Vi behöver två stolar till. (We need two more chairs.)
Focus Can Occur Inside A Clause
Han ska sälja Volvon med i morgon places additive med after Volvon inside the sentence. The phrase identifies another item being sold; med does not have to be sentence-final. Jag vill med ha ett glas vatten occurs colloquially; a neutral model is Jag vill också ha ett glas vatten, but register alone does not make the first wording a universal error.
The usual subordinate model is Jag hoppas att du också kan komma. A particle attached to a particular focus and conversational main-clause order in some reported or asserted complements are distinct possibilities. Learn the ordinary order first without turning it into a ban on every postverbal additive.
Examples (5)
- Jag gillar kaffe, och min syster gillar också te.
I like coffee, and my sister also likes tea.
Word by Word: I like coffee, and my sister likes also tea.
In a main clause,
ocksåis placed after the finite verb (gillar). - Det är viktigt att du också läser instruktionerna.
It is important that you also read the instructions.
Word by Word: It is important that you also read the instructions.
In a subordinate clause (starting with
att),ocksåis placed before the verb (läser). - Även experterna var osäkra på resultatet.
Even the experts were unsure of the result.
Word by Word: Even the-experts were unsure on the-result.
Ävenis used for emphasis at the beginning of the sentence, often translating to 'even'. It's more formal thanockså. - - Jag är trött. - Jag med.
- I'm tired. - Me too.
Word by Word: - I am tired. - I too.
Medis a very common and colloquial way to say 'me too' as a short response. It's primarily used in spoken language. - Maten var jättegod. Kan jag få lite till?
The food was delicious. Can I have a little more?
Word by Word: The-food was very-good. Can I get little more?
Till follows lite in the quantity expression lite till (a little more). It is at sentence end in this example, but that is not required for every phrase containing till.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn the placement of 'också' (also) and 'även' (even/also), you need a solid grasp of Swedish sentence structure. These particles behave like sentence adverbs (such as 'inte'), meaning their position depends on whether the sentence is a main or subordinate clause and whether the V2 rule has triggered an inversion of the subject and verb.
- Negation in main clauses
Additive focus particles typically follow the same placement rules as sentence adverbs like 'inte', so understanding negation placement provides the necessary structural template.
Level 1 - Verb-second rule
Since focus particles shift position based on the verb's location, the learner must understand how the V2 rule affects sentence structure when the subject is not in the first position.
Level 3
Related Patterns
- Subordinate clause word order
The ordinary subordinate middle-field order puts också before the finite verb: att du också kan komma. Focus-adjacent placement and some spoken asserted complements require separate analysis; do not treat a clause label alone as an absolute position rule.
Level 3 - Core sentence particles
Foundationsocksåis a type of sentence particle (or adverbial). Its placement rules are similar to other particles like inte, which helps in understanding the general sentence structure. - Only/just placement
This pattern, covering words like 'bara' (only), is the opposite of additive focus. Comparing how 'bara' and 'också' are placed helps clarify the concept of focus in Swedish.
Level 5 - Register differences
Med in the additive sense has a colloquial register; också is broadly usable and även is common in writing. Register is a choice of style, not automatically a grammar error.
Level 5 - Fronting for emphasis
In Också jag vill komma, the focused phrase också jag occupies the first constituent position. In Jag känner också henne, the particle is adjacent to its focus without being fronted.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice Also/too placement in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Swedish lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
