Målvakten var nära att rädda straffen.

to be

Breakdown of Målvakten var nära att rädda straffen.

• att: to
• nära: near
• målvakten: the goalkeeper

Questions & Answers about Målvakten var nära att rädda straffen.

What does målvakten mean, and why does it end in -en?

Målvakten means the goalkeeper.

It comes from:

• målvakt = goalkeeper
• -en = the definite singular ending for many en-words

So:

• en målvakt = a goalkeeper
• målvakten = the goalkeeper

It is also a compound word:

• mål = goal
• vakt = guard/watchman

So literally it is something like goal-guard.

Why is the verb var used here?

Var is the past tense of är / vara (to be).

So:

• är = is
• var = was

That means the sentence is talking about a past situation:

• Målvakten var nära att rädda straffen. = The goalkeeper was close to saving the penalty.

If you wanted present tense, you would say:

• Målvakten är nära att rädda straffen. = The goalkeeper is close to saving the penalty.

What does nära att mean in this sentence?