The BIFF rule: Swedish word order in subordinate clauses
Why inte moves in front of the verb after att, eftersom, om and när. The BIFF rule explained with minimal pairs, plus what happens when the bisats comes first.
In a main clause, inte follows the verb: Jag dricker inte kaffe. But tuck that same statement inside a bigger sentence, after a word like att or eftersom, and inte jumps to the other side: Hon säger att jag inte dricker kaffe. Swedish learners memorise this as the BIFF rule, and mastering it is one of the clearest signals that someone's Swedish has moved past the beginner stage.
Two kinds of clause
A main clause (huvudsats) can stand alone as a sentence. A subordinate clause (bisats) hangs off another clause and is introduced by a subjunction. The ones you'll meet constantly:
- att = that: Hon säger att...
- eftersom = because, since
- om = if (the same om you know from time expressions, in its other job)
- när = when
- som = who, which
The rule itself
BIFF stands for a Swedish sentence: i Bisats kommer Inte Före det Finita verbet. In a subordinate clause, inte comes before the finite verb. (The finite verb is just the one carrying the tense: dricker, var, har.)
Side by side:
- Main clause: Jag dricker inte kaffe. Verb, then inte.
- Subordinate clause: Hon säger att jag inte dricker kaffe. Inte, then verb.
And it isn't only inte that moves. The whole family of sentence adverbs (alltid, ofta, aldrig, kanske) obeys the same rule:
- Hon dricker alltid te. She always drinks tea.
- Jag vet att hon alltid dricker te. I know that she always drinks tea.
One more calm observation about the bisats: the inversion games from the V2 article don't happen inside it. A subordinate clause runs in fixed order: subjunction, subject, inte and friends, verb, everything else. In a way the bisats is the easy clause; things stop moving around.
When the bisats goes first, V2 strikes again
A subordinate clause can open the sentence. When it does, it counts as the first position of the main clause, so the main clause's verb comes immediately after, before the subject:
- Om du inte förstår, kan du fråga. If you don't understand, you can ask.
- När det regnar, tar jag bussen. When it rains, I take the bus.
Two rules, one sentence: BIFF inside the om clause, V2 inversion in the main clause. Sentences like these are the whole Swedish word order system in miniature, which is why teachers love them and exams lean on them.
The name
Yes, biff also means steak. Generations of SFI students have remembered subordinate clause word order through beef, and there is no reason you should be different.
Hear the rule
Five sentences: one main clause for contrast, then BIFF at work.
Swedish
Jag dricker inte kaffe.
Hon säger att hon inte dricker kaffe.
Vi stannar hemma eftersom det inte är fint väder.
Om du inte förstår, kan du fråga.
Jag vet att du inte har tid i dag.
English
I don't drink coffee.
She says that she doesn't drink coffee.
We're staying home because the weather isn't nice.
If you don't understand, you can ask.
I know that you don't have time today.