aldrig

Never

Level 1

Use aldrig for never. In an ordinary subject-first main clause it often follows the finite verb; its position changes with the clause structure.

How It Works

aldrig is the Swedish equivalent of 'never'. It's an adverb used to state that an action or event does not happen at any time.

Placement in a Sentence
In an ordinary subject-first main clause, aldrig often follows the finite verb. In ordinary subordinate order it precedes that verb: Jag vet att hon aldrig röker. This is the same position where you would place inte.

The basic structure is:
Subject + Verb + aldrig + (Rest of sentence)

  • Jag äter aldrig kött. (I never eat meat.)
  • Hon kommer aldrig för sent. (She never comes too late.)

Never Versus Not Never
For the ordinary meaning never, use aldrig alone. Inte aldrig can deliberately deny never, roughly not never or sometimes. It is marked and not the same meaning as aldrig, rather than a universal grammatical impossibility.

Examples (5)

  1. Jag dricker aldrig kaffe.

    I never drink coffee.

    Word by Word: I drink never coffee.

  2. Han kommer aldrig sent.

    He never comes late.

    Word by Word: He comes never late.

  3. Vi har aldrig varit i Stockholm.

    We have never been to Stockholm.

    Word by Word: We have never been in Stockholm.

    Here, aldrig comes after the auxiliary verb har (have).

  4. Varför äter du aldrig frukost?

    Why do you never eat breakfast?

    Word by Word: Why eat you never breakfast?

  5. Jag glömmer aldrig min födelsedag.

    I never forget my birthday.

    Word by Word: I forget never my birthday.

    Aldrig states that forgetting does not occur. This replaces the misleading general claim that deserts never receive rain.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a double negative with inte.

    Jag dricker inte aldrig kaffe.
    Jag dricker aldrig kaffe.

    For I never drink coffee, use aldrig alone. Inte aldrig can instead deny the claim never, in a context that supports that contrast. Swedish does not normally use the two negatives together merely to reinforce never.

  • Using final aldrig where ordinary middle placement is intended.

    Jag äter fisk aldrig.
    Jag äter aldrig fisk.

    Jag äter aldrig fisk is the ordinary neutral order. Final aldrig can occur as a detached emphatic addition, but Jag äter fisk aldrig is not the neutral pattern taught here. Aldrig need not immediately follow the finite verb when a subject or another middle-field element intervenes.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

aldrigLevel 1Never

Learn This First

To use 'aldrig' (never) correctly, you need to understand basic Swedish sentence structure, particularly where to place sentence-level adverbs in relation to the verb. It functions similarly to the negation 'inte'.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

aldrig