Det tog tid, men till slut lyckades hon lösa allt utan hjälp.

Here, det is a dummy subject (also called a formal subject). Swedish often uses det in expressions about time, weather, and general situations.

So Det tog tid literally looks like It took time, just like in English.

A few similar examples:

• Det regnar. = It’s raining.
• Det gick bra. = It went well.
• Det var svårt. = It was difficult.

In this sentence, det does not refer to a specific thing. It is just required by the grammar.

Because ta (to take) is an irregular verb.

Its forms are:

• infinitive: ta
• present: tar
• past: tog
• supine: tagit

So:

• Det tar tid. = It takes time.
• Det tog tid. = It took time.

This is something you simply need to memorize, since it does not follow the most regular past-tense pattern.

Because tid here is used as an uncountable noun, just like time in English.

So Swedish says:

• Det tog tid = It took time

Not:

• Det tog en tid in this context

You can say en tid, but that means something more like a period of time / a while, which is a slightly different idea.

Compare:

• Det tog tid. = It took time.
• Det tog en tid innan hon blev klar. = It took a while before she was finished.

Till slut means in the end / eventually / finally.

It focuses on the result after some delay or difficulty.

• Det tog tid, men till slut lyckades hon... = It took time, but in the end/eventually she managed...

It is not exactly the same as äntligen.

• till slut = eventually, in the end
• äntligen = finally, at last, often with a feeling of relief

So:

• Till slut kom bussen. = The bus finally/eventually came.
• Äntligen kom bussen! = At last the bus came!

In your sentence, till slut is the more neutral and natural choice.

This is because Swedish follows the V2 rule in main clauses. V2 means the finite verb must come in the second position.

In the clause:

• men till slut lyckades hon lösa allt utan hjälp

the first real element is till slut, so the finite verb lyckades must come next, and the subject hon comes after that.

Pattern:

• first element: till slut
• second position (finite verb): lyckades
• subject: hon

This is a very important Swedish word-order pattern.

Compare:

• Hon lyckades till slut lösa allt.
• Till slut lyckades hon lösa allt.

Both are correct, but when till slut is moved to the front, the verb must come before the subject.

Because men is a coordinating conjunction (but), and conjunctions like och, men, eller, för do not count as sentence elements in the V2 pattern.

So in:

• men till slut lyckades hon...

the word men just links the clause to the previous one. The first actual element of the new clause is till slut, which is why inversion happens:

• till slut lyckades hon

not

• till slut hon lyckades

Lyckades is the past tense of lyckas, which means to succeed or to manage.

In this sentence, it means that she managed to do something successfully after difficulty.

Forms:

• infinitive: lyckas
• present: lyckas
• past: lyckades

Examples:

• Hon lyckas ofta. = She often succeeds.
• Hon lyckades. = She succeeded.
• Hon lyckades lösa problemet. = She managed to solve the problem.

Because lyckas is normally followed directly by the infinitive without att.

So Swedish says:

• Hon lyckades lösa allt.

not usually:

• Hon lyckades att lösa allt.

For a learner, the safest rule is:

• lyckas + infinitive

Examples:

• Jag lyckades hitta nycklarna. = I managed to find the keys.
• Vi lyckades vinna. = We managed to win.

Because after lyckades, Swedish uses the infinitive of the second verb.

So:

• lyckades lösa = managed to solve

Here:

• lyckades is the finite past-tense verb
• lösa is the infinitive

Compare:

• Hon löste allt. = She solved everything.
• Hon lyckades lösa allt. = She managed to solve everything.

So löste would be used if solve were the main finite verb, but here it is not.

Lösa usually means solve, especially for problems, tasks, or situations.

• lösa ett problem
• lösa en uppgift
• lösa allt

Klara means more like manage, cope with, or get through.

• klara sig själv = manage on one’s own
• klara en examen = pass an exam
• klara allt = handle everything / get through everything

In your sentence, lösa allt suggests she solved everything, which matches the idea of resolving problems or tasks.
If you said klara allt, the meaning would shift slightly toward manage everything rather than solve everything.

Both allt and allting can mean everything.

In many contexts they are interchangeable:

• Hon löste allt.
• Hon löste allting.

But allt is often a bit more common and compact in everyday Swedish.

A useful guideline:

• allt = very common, neutral
• allting = also correct, sometimes slightly more emphatic or stylistically fuller

So lösa allt sounds very natural here.

Because Swedish often uses bare nouns after certain prepositions when talking about something in a general sense.

So:

• utan hjälp = without help

This is like English, where we also usually say without help, not without a help.

More examples:

• utan problem = without problems
• utan tvekan = without hesitation
• utan stöd = without support

If you added an article, it would usually sound wrong or would require a more specific meaning.

Yes, absolutely.

• utan hjälp = without help
• utan någon hjälp = without any help

The version with någon is a little more explicit or emphatic. It stresses the total absence of help.

So:

• Hon löste allt utan hjälp. = She solved everything without help.
• Hon löste allt utan någon hjälp. = She solved everything without any help at all.

Both are correct.

Because the sentence contains two main clauses:

• Det tog tid
• men till slut lyckades hon lösa allt utan hjälp

In Swedish, it is common and correct to use a comma before men when joining two main clauses, especially when the clauses are fairly complete and distinct.

So the comma helps show the pause and structure:

• Det tog tid, men till slut lyckades hon lösa allt utan hjälp.

This is also very natural from an English-speaking perspective.

No, it is still a main clause.

That is why it follows V2 word order:

• till slut lyckades hon...

A subordinate clause would usually be introduced by a subordinating word like att, eftersom, när, om, som, etc., and then Swedish word order would be different.

For example:

• ... eftersom hon till slut lyckades lösa allt utan hjälp.

Notice that after eftersom, the subject comes before the finite verb:

• hon lyckades

So in your original sentence, the clause after men is still a main clause, not a subordinate one.

Yes. Swedish allows some flexibility.

For example:

• Det tog tid, men hon lyckades till slut lösa allt utan hjälp.
• Det tog tid, men hon lyckades lösa allt till slut.

These are possible, though the first version you were given is very natural:

• Det tog tid, men till slut lyckades hon lösa allt utan hjälp.

Putting till slut early in the clause gives it a bit more prominence, as if emphasizing the eventual success.

A natural stress pattern would often emphasize the contrast and the final success:

• Det tog tid, men till slut lyckades hon lösa allt utan hjälp.

Likely stress points:

• tid
• slut
• lyckades
• lösa
• allt
• hjälp

In speech, men till slut often sets up the turnaround: things were difficult, but in the end she succeeded.

So the sentence has a clear progression:

1. it took time
2. eventually
3. she managed
4. on her own

That makes it sound very natural and well-structured in Swedish.