Expressing "No matter how" with hur ... än
To express "no matter how," Swedish uses a subordinate clause starting with hur + an adjective or adverb, paired with the particle än.
The word order inside this clause is: hur + adjective/adverb + subject + än + verb
Because this is a subordinate clause, än acts like a sentence adverb (such as inte) and goes directly before the verb. If the sentence starts with this clause, the main clause that follows must obey the V2 (verb-second) rule and start with its verb.
| No matter how hot the glassworks studio is, the glassblower continues to work. | Hur varm hyttan än är, fortsätter glasblåsaren att arbeta. |
| No matter how glowing the glass mass is, one must shape it fast. | Hur glödande glasmassan än är, måste man forma den snabbt. |
Placing the Clause at the End
You can also put the hur ... än clause at the end of the sentence. The internal word order of the subordinate clause stays exactly the same, while the main clause simply follows standard word order.
| You must spin the pipe all the time, no matter how sweaty you feel. | Du måste snurra pipan hela tiden, hur svettig du än känner dig. |
| When the glass solidifies too fast it can crack, no matter how careful one is. | När glaset stelnar för snabbt kan det spricka, hur noggrann man än är. |
Using Adverbs and Plurals
The construction works exactly the same way with adverbs or plural adjectives.
| Provided that the pipe is clean, the shape becomes perfect no matter how fast you blow. | Förutsatt att pipan är ren, blir formen perfekt hur fort du än blåser. |
| No matter how tired and sweaty they were this past Christmas, they continued to shape beautiful drops. | Hur trötta och svettiga de än var i julas, fortsatte de att forma vackra droppar. |
| No matter how difficult it seems, you can learn to shape the glass mass. | Hur svårt det än verkar, kan du lära dig att forma glasmassan. |
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