Time Expressions with Prepositions
Different ways to express time
Several common Swedish time expressions use prepositions, and changing the preposition can completely change the meaning. This is one of the most common things a learner gets wrong, because they translate these directly from English, which can change the meaning in Swedish.
Duration
I expresses the duration of an action or situation and tells us how long the action continued or has been going so far.
Jag har bott här i två år.I have lived here for two years.
Vi väntade i tjugo minuter.We waited for twenty minutes.
Here is where learners make their first mistake: using för.
Jag lär mig svenska för tre månader.
The correct use is with i and present perfect:
Jag har lärt mig svenska i tre månader.(I have been learning Swedish for three months.)
Completion time
På expresses the time needed to complete something.
Jag lärde mig svenska på sex månader.I learned Swedish in six months.
Vi gick dit på tio minuter.We walked there in ten minutes.
The future
Om marks that something will happen after that amount of time.
Jag flyttar om två dagar.I am moving in two days.
Filmen börjar om tio minuter.The movie starts in ten minutes.
The past
För ... sedan expresses how much time has passed since something happened.
Jag flyttade hit för två år sedan.I moved here two years ago.
Filmen började för en halvtimme sedan.The movie started half an hour ago.