HSC Swedish Continuers cheat sheet

The listening section is played as audio, usually twice, followed by a short pause before the next item; answers are written in Swedish or English depending on the question language.

Question stems signal the response language: a Swedish question (e.g. "Vad gör Anna?") expects a Swedish answer, an English question expects English.

Distinguish main idea from detail: items asking "Varför/Varför då?" target cause, "När?" targets time, "Hur?" targets manner or transport.

Swedish question words to track while listening: vad (what), vem (who), var (where), när (when), hur (how), varför (why), vilken/vilket/vilka (which).

Numbers, prices and times are frequent distractors: listen for correction markers such as "nej, förlåt", "eller rättare sagt", "inte klockan sju utan åtta".

Discourse markers that flip meaning: men (but), dock (however), trots att (although), ändå (still), egentligen (actually), faktiskt (in fact).

Negation is often contracted in speech: inte → "int"', "inget", "aldrig", "knappast"; missing it reverses the answer.

Swedish pitch accent (accent 1 vs accent 2) distinguishes pairs such as anden (the duck) and anden (the spirit); context resolves ambiguity.

Text types in the reading section include notices, advertisements, personal emails, blog posts, short articles and literary extracts; register shifts between du-tilltal (informal you) and ni/formal address.

Skim for genre and purpose first (informera, övertala, underhålla, klaga), then scan for the specific detail the question names.

Swedish word order: main clause verb is second (V2) - "Igår åkte vi till Malmö"; subordinate clause inserts inte/aldrig before the verb - "...att vi inte åkte".

Inversion after a fronted adverbial signals emphasis, not a question: "Sedan kom tåget" = "Then the train came".

Definite forms: en-word → -en (bilen), ett-word → -et (huset), plural -arna/-en/-na; the definite suffix marks given information, indefinite marks new information.

Connectors carry argument structure: eftersom/därför att (cause), därför (result), trots att (concession), för att (purpose), medan (contrast).

Modal particles soften or sharpen claims: ju (as you know), väl (presumably), nog (probably), kanske (maybe), faktiskt (actually); they change the writer's stance.

Idiomatic expressions to recognise: "det spelar ingen roll" (it doesn't matter), "ha koll på" (keep track of), "stå ut med" (put up with), "dra nytta av" (take advantage of).

Pronoun reference questions: track vad som syftar på vad - den/det/detta/dessa often point back to the nearest matching noun or whole clause.

Text types required include informal email/message, formal letter, blog/diary entry, article, and short narrative; each has a fixed opening and closing formula.

Informal email frame: Hej [namn]! ... Hälsningar / Kram [namn]; formal letter frame: Bästa [namn], / Med vänliga hälsningar [namn].

Word-order rule for main clauses: subject + finite verb + (negation) + object/adverbial; with fronted adverbial, invert subject and verb ("I somras reste jag...").

Subordinate clauses (att, eftersom, när, om, trots att) place inte/aldrig and sentence adverbs before the finite verb: "...att jag inte kan komma".

Past tense narrative uses preterite (jag gick, vi åt) with pluperfect (hade gått) for prior events; present tense is standard in blogs and reviews.

Verb conjugation groups: -ar (tala), -er (läsa), -r (bo), strong verbs change vowel (skriva–skrev–skrivit); keep tense consistent across the text.

Adjective agreement: en stor bil, ett stort hus, stora bilar/hus; definite double marking: den stora bilen, det stora huset.

Cohesion markers to deploy: först, sedan, därefter, dessutom, dock, sammanfattningsvis; each paragraph should advance one idea.

Register control: avoid slang and English loans in formal letters; use ni/du consistently and keep formulaic openings and closings correct.

The listening section is played as audio, usually twice, followed by a short pause before the next item; answers are written in Swedish or English depending on the question language.

Question stems signal the response language: a Swedish question (e.g. "Vad gör Anna?") expects a Swedish answer, an English question expects English.

Distinguish main idea from detail: items asking "Varför/Varför då?" target cause, "När?" targets time, "Hur?" targets manner or transport.

Swedish question words to track while listening: vad (what), vem (who), var (where), när (when), hur (how), varför (why), vilken/vilket/vilka (which).

Numbers, prices and times are frequent distractors: listen for correction markers such as "nej, förlåt", "eller rättare sagt", "inte klockan sju utan åtta".

Discourse markers that flip meaning: men (but), dock (however), trots att (although), ändå (still), egentligen (actually), faktiskt (in fact).

Negation is often contracted in speech: inte → "int"', "inget", "aldrig", "knappast"; missing it reverses the answer.

Swedish pitch accent (accent 1 vs accent 2) distinguishes pairs such as anden (the duck) and anden (the spirit); context resolves ambiguity.

Text types in the reading section include notices, advertisements, personal emails, blog posts, short articles and literary extracts; register shifts between du-tilltal (informal you) and ni/formal address.

Skim for genre and purpose first (informera, övertala, underhålla, klaga), then scan for the specific detail the question names.

Swedish word order: main clause verb is second (V2) - "Igår åkte vi till Malmö"; subordinate clause inserts inte/aldrig before the verb - "...att vi inte åkte".

Inversion after a fronted adverbial signals emphasis, not a question: "Sedan kom tåget" = "Then the train came".

Definite forms: en-word → -en (bilen), ett-word → -et (huset), plural -arna/-en/-na; the definite suffix marks given information, indefinite marks new information.

Connectors carry argument structure: eftersom/därför att (cause), därför (result), trots att (concession), för att (purpose), medan (contrast).

Modal particles soften or sharpen claims: ju (as you know), väl (presumably), nog (probably), kanske (maybe), faktiskt (actually); they change the writer's stance.

Idiomatic expressions to recognise: "det spelar ingen roll" (it doesn't matter), "ha koll på" (keep track of), "stå ut med" (put up with), "dra nytta av" (take advantage of).

Pronoun reference questions: track vad som syftar på vad - den/det/detta/dessa often point back to the nearest matching noun or whole clause.

Text types required include informal email/message, formal letter, blog/diary entry, article, and short narrative; each has a fixed opening and closing formula.

Informal email frame: Hej [namn]! ... Hälsningar / Kram [namn]; formal letter frame: Bästa [namn], / Med vänliga hälsningar [namn].

Word-order rule for main clauses: subject + finite verb + (negation) + object/adverbial; with fronted adverbial, invert subject and verb ("I somras reste jag...").

Subordinate clauses (att, eftersom, när, om, trots att) place inte/aldrig and sentence adverbs before the finite verb: "...att jag inte kan komma".

Past tense narrative uses preterite (jag gick, vi åt) with pluperfect (hade gått) for prior events; present tense is standard in blogs and reviews.

Verb conjugation groups: -ar (tala), -er (läsa), -r (bo), strong verbs change vowel (skriva–skrev–skrivit); keep tense consistent across the text.

Adjective agreement: en stor bil, ett stort hus, stora bilar/hus; definite double marking: den stora bilen, det stora huset.

Cohesion markers to deploy: först, sedan, därefter, dessutom, dock, sammanfattningsvis; each paragraph should advance one idea.

Register control: avoid slang and English loans in formal letters; use ni/du consistently and keep formulaic openings and closings correct.

The listening section is played as audio, usually twice, followed by a short pause before the next item; answers are written in Swedish or English depending on the question language.

Question stems signal the response language: a Swedish question (e.g. "Vad gör Anna?") expects a Swedish answer, an English question expects English.

Distinguish main idea from detail: items asking "Varför/Varför då?" target cause, "När?" targets time, "Hur?" targets manner or transport.

Swedish question words to track while listening: vad (what), vem (who), var (where), när (when), hur (how), varför (why), vilken/vilket/vilka (which).

Numbers, prices and times are frequent distractors: listen for correction markers such as "nej, förlåt", "eller rättare sagt", "inte klockan sju utan åtta".

Discourse markers that flip meaning: men (but), dock (however), trots att (although), ändå (still), egentligen (actually), faktiskt (in fact).

Negation is often contracted in speech: inte → "int"', "inget", "aldrig", "knappast"; missing it reverses the answer.

Swedish pitch accent (accent 1 vs accent 2) distinguishes pairs such as anden (the duck) and anden (the spirit); context resolves ambiguity.

Text types in the reading section include notices, advertisements, personal emails, blog posts, short articles and literary extracts; register shifts between du-tilltal (informal you) and ni/formal address.

Skim for genre and purpose first (informera, övertala, underhålla, klaga), then scan for the specific detail the question names.

Swedish word order: main clause verb is second (V2) - "Igår åkte vi till Malmö"; subordinate clause inserts inte/aldrig before the verb - "...att vi inte åkte".

Inversion after a fronted adverbial signals emphasis, not a question: "Sedan kom tåget" = "Then the train came".

Definite forms: en-word → -en (bilen), ett-word → -et (huset), plural -arna/-en/-na; the definite suffix marks given information, indefinite marks new information.

Connectors carry argument structure: eftersom/därför att (cause), därför (result), trots att (concession), för att (purpose), medan (contrast).

Modal particles soften or sharpen claims: ju (as you know), väl (presumably), nog (probably), kanske (maybe), faktiskt (actually); they change the writer's stance.

Idiomatic expressions to recognise: "det spelar ingen roll" (it doesn't matter), "ha koll på" (keep track of), "stå ut med" (put up with), "dra nytta av" (take advantage of).

Pronoun reference questions: track vad som syftar på vad - den/det/detta/dessa often point back to the nearest matching noun or whole clause.

Text types required include informal email/message, formal letter, blog/diary entry, article, and short narrative; each has a fixed opening and closing formula.

Informal email frame: Hej [namn]! ... Hälsningar / Kram [namn]; formal letter frame: Bästa [namn], / Med vänliga hälsningar [namn].

Word-order rule for main clauses: subject + finite verb + (negation) + object/adverbial; with fronted adverbial, invert subject and verb ("I somras reste jag...").

Subordinate clauses (att, eftersom, när, om, trots att) place inte/aldrig and sentence adverbs before the finite verb: "...att jag inte kan komma".

Past tense narrative uses preterite (jag gick, vi åt) with pluperfect (hade gått) for prior events; present tense is standard in blogs and reviews.

Verb conjugation groups: -ar (tala), -er (läsa), -r (bo), strong verbs change vowel (skriva–skrev–skrivit); keep tense consistent across the text.

Adjective agreement: en stor bil, ett stort hus, stora bilar/hus; definite double marking: den stora bilen, det stora huset.

Cohesion markers to deploy: först, sedan, därefter, dessutom, dock, sammanfattningsvis; each paragraph should advance one idea.

Register control: avoid slang and English loans in formal letters; use ni/du consistently and keep formulaic openings and closings correct.