fråga om
Ask Whether/if
Use fråga om to report a yes/no question, similar to 'ask if' or 'ask whether' in English.
How It Works
The phrase fråga om is essential for indirect speech in Swedish. It's used specifically when you want to report a yes/no question.
Structure:
Subject + fråga(r) + (Object) + om + Subordinate Clause
The key thing to remember is the word order in the clause that follows om. It must follow the subordinate clause word order, where the subject comes before the finite verb and sentence adverbs such as inte normally precede it. This is different from a direct question, which uses inversion (verb before subject).
Let's compare:
- Direct Question: Kommer du på festen? (Are you coming to the party?)
Here, the verbkommeris before the subjectdu. - Indirect Question: Han frågar om du kommer på festen. (He asks if you are coming to the party.)
Here, afterom, the subjectducomes before the verbkommer.
The verb fråga can be conjugated in any tense (e.g., frågar - asks, frågade - asked, har frågat - have asked). Choose the embedded tense according to the time perspective. A past report can shift Har du sett ...? to Hon frågade om jag hade sett .... Present tense can remain when the question is still current, as in Han frågade om du kommer imorgon.
Outside this indirect-question pattern, fråga om can mean “ask about” before a noun phrase: fråga om min bok. Distinguish this prepositional om from the clause introducer meaning “whether”.
Meaning and Usage ContrastJag frågade om min bok. / Jag frågade efter min bok.Jag frågade om min bok is grammatical and means that you asked about your book. Fråga efter is used when seeking the book or asking where it is. Before a clause, om can instead mean “whether”: frågade om boken fanns kvar.
Examples (5)
- Jag frågar om du vill ha kaffe.
I'm asking if you want coffee.
Word by Word: I ask if you want have coffee.
- Hon frågade om jag hade sett hennes nycklar.
She asked if I had seen her keys.
Word by Word: She asked if I had seen her keys.
The direct question was 'Har du sett mina nycklar?' (Have you seen my keys?). Notice the word order changes to subject-verb (
jag hade) in the indirect question. - Kan du fråga honom om han kan hjälpa till?
Can you ask him if he can help?
Word by Word: Can you ask him if he can help out?
- De kommer att fråga om vi är redo.
They are going to ask if we are ready.
Word by Word: They come to ask if we are ready.
- Vi borde fråga om affären är öppen.
We should ask if the store is open.
Word by Word: We should ask if the-store is open.
Common Mistakes
Using direct question word order (verb-subject) after 'om' instead of subordinate clause word order (subject-verb).
Han frågade om kommer du imorgon.Han frågade om du kommer imorgon.After 'om' in this structure, you must use subordinate clause word order, where the subject comes before the verb (
du kommer), not the inverted order used in direct questions (kommer du).
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use 'fråga om' correctly, you need to understand that it introduces an indirect yes/no question. This requires knowledge of the conjunction 'om' (if/whether) and the specific word order rules (BIFF rule) that apply to subordinate clauses in Swedish.
- omAbout/if
The word 'om' is the core conjunction used to translate 'if' or 'whether' in indirect questions.
Level 1 - Indirect question word order
Understanding how to structure indirect questions is essential, as 'fråga om' introduces a subordinate clause.
Level 2 - Subordinate clause word order
Since 'fråga om' introduces a subordinate clause, the learner must know the specific word order rules (like negation placement) for these clauses.
Level 3
Related Patterns
- Reported speech
Level 3fråga omis a primary way to form indirect (reported) yes/no questions, which is a major component of reported speech. - undra + Question WordWonder + Question
Level 3undrais used to express personal wonder. It can be followed byomto mean 'wonder if', functioning very similarly tofråga ombut without directing the question to a specific person. It can also be followed by other question words likevad(what) ornär(when). - om (villkor)If
This pattern uses the same word,
Level 2om, but here it means 'if/whether' to introduce a reported question, not to set up a conditional 'if...then' scenario. - be någon attAsk Someone to
This is another structure for reported speech. While
Level 3fråga omreports a question,be någon attis used to report a request or command (e.g., 'ask someone to do something').
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice fråga om in Bubblegum
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