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Setting up an urban rooftop garden requires careful planning to figure out what will actually work. To discuss whether an action is practically possible or impossible, Swedish uses the impersonal phrase **det går att**.

### Det går att (It is possible to)

This construction translates roughly to "it is possible to," "it can be done," or "it is feasible." It is formed using the impersonal subject **det**, the verb **går**, the infinitive marker **att**, and an infinitive verb.

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To ask if something is feasible, you simply apply the standard rule for questions by swapping the subject and verb to form **går det att...?** (is it possible to...?).

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### Det går inte att (It is not possible to)

To express that a task is practically impossible, place the negating adverb **inte** directly after the verb **går**.

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Remember that Swedish is a V2 (verb-second) language. If your sentence begins with an adverb rather than the subject, the verb **går** must take the second position, pushing the subject **det** after it.

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### Using it in Subordinate Clauses

You will frequently use this expression inside subordinate clauses, such as after "Do you think that..." or "Do you know if...". The phrase naturally slots in right after the subordinate conjunction (like **att** or **om**).

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Expressing feasibility (det går att)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite ending (barnet, hunden)

Indefinite articles and -ar verbs (en, ett)

Basic word order

Singular adjectives (stor, stort)

Plural adjectives (-a)

Sentence negation (inte)

Yes/No questions

Basic question words (vad, vem, var)

Regular Group 2 verbs (-er)

Short verbs and irregulars (har, gör)

The infinitive marker (att)

Modal verbs (kan, vill, måste, får)

Future intention (ska)

Time adverbs (imorgon, igår)

Word order inversion

Adverbs of frequency (ibland, aldrig)

Everyday things (dörren, stolen, tåget)

Definite suffix spelling changes

Plural nouns Group 1 and 2 (-or, -ar)

Plural nouns Group 3 (-er, -r)

Neuter indefinite plurals

Definite plural suffixes (-na, -a, -en)

Object pronouns (mig, dig, oss)

Reflexive pronouns (sig)

Expanded question words (när, varför)

Which and what (vilken, vilket, vilka)

Coordinating conjunctions (men, eller, för)

Prepositions of place (i, på, till, från)

Quantifiers (mycket, många)

Indefinite pronouns (någon, något, några)

First and second person possessives (min, din, vår, er)

Third person possessives (hans, hennes, dess, deras)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sitt, sina)

The genitive (-s)

Adjectives before singular nouns

Adjectives before plural nouns (-a)

Double definiteness (den, det, de)

Demonstratives (den här, det här, de här)

The imperative mood

Past tense of vara and ha (var, hade)

Possessives for names (-s)

Definite plural adjectives (de ... -a)

Genitive case for names (-s)

Numbers 1 to 10 (en, två, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elva till tjugo)

Counting by tens to 100 (trettio, fyrtio...)

Days of the week (måndag, tisdag...)

Months of the year (januari, februari...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (första, andra...)

Greetings and politeness (hej, tack, förlåt)

Particle verbs of direction (gå ut, komma in)

Simple past: Group 1 (-ade)

Simple past: Group 2a (-de)

Simple past: Group 2b (-te)

Simple past: Group 3 (-dde)

Simple past: Group 4

Present perfect: Groups 1 and 2 (har)

Present perfect: Groups 3 and 4

Past perfect (hade)

Future predictions (kommer att)

Future with present tense

The adjective small (liten, litet, små)

Demonstratives of distance (den där, det där, de där)

Negative pronouns (ingen, inget, inga)

Universal pronouns (all, allt, alla)

The generic pronoun (man, en)

Possessive generic pronoun (ens)

Reciprocal pronoun (varandra)

Qualitative pronouns (sådan, sådant, sådana)

Habitual time expressions (på)

Specific past time expressions (i)

Past time expressions (för ... sedan)

Future time expressions (om)

Location and motion adverbs (här/hit, där/dit)

Consequences (så)

Correlative conjunctions (både ... och)

Either and neither (antingen ... eller, varken ... eller)

Verbs of opinion and belief (tycker, tror, tänker)

Subordinate clauses (att, om)

Time clauses (när, innan, medan)

Clauses of cause (eftersom, därför att)

Negation in subordinate clauses (inte)

V2 word order inversion

Relative clauses as subjects (som)

Relative clauses as objects (som)

Relative clauses for places (där)

Adverbs from adjectives (-t)

Adjective comparative and superlative (-are, -ast)

Question	Answer
to construct	anlägga
the rooftop garden	takodlingen
Do you think it is possible to construct the rooftop garden here?	Tror du att det går att anlägga takodlingen här?
It would be wonderful, but is it possible to construct a rooftop garden in the city?	Det vore underbart, men går det att anlägga en takodling i staden?
to reinforce	förstärka
the load-bearing capacity	bärkraften
It is not possible to build without reinforcing the load-bearing capacity first.	Det går inte att bygga utan att förstärka bärkraften först.
Is it possible to get the load-bearing capacity reinforced in advance?	Går det att få bärkraften förstärkt i förväg?
to hoist up	hissa upp
the container	behållaren
Is it possible to hoist up the container, or is it too heavy?	Går det att hissa upp behållaren, eller är den för tung?
It is possible to hoist up most containers with a machine.	Det går att hissa upp de flesta behållare med en maskin.
the drainage	dräneringen
It is not possible to ignore the drainage if one wants to grow.	Det går inte att strunta i dräneringen om man vill odla.
the irrigation	bevattningen
Do you know if it is possible to combine the irrigation and the drainage in the same system?	Vet du om det går att kombinera bevattningen och dräneringen i samma system?
sturdy	stadig
the windbreak	vindskyddet
It is possible to build a sturdy windbreak against the storm.	Det går att bygga ett stadigt vindskydd mot stormen.
We hope that it is possible to make the windbreak really sturdy.	Vi hoppas att det går att göra vindskyddet riktigt stadigt.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to solve the irrigation without a permit.	Tyvärr går det inte att lösa bevattningen utan tillstånd.
Is it certain that it is possible to construct the rooftop garden without an expensive windbreak?	Är det säkert att det går att anlägga takodlingen utan ett dyrt vindskydd?