When making judgments or writing official reports—like a health inspector evaluating a commercial kitchen—you often need to clarify that your statement is limited. In Swedish, you can express "as far as" using the restrictive conjunction såvitt.
Sentence Structure with såvitt
The conjunction såvitt introduces a subordinate clause. When the såvitt-clause starts a sentence, it occupies the first position. To satisfy the V2 (verb-second) rule, the main clause must undergo inversion: its verb comes immediately after the subordinate clause, followed by the subject.
| As far as I know, the hygiene is actually approved. | Såvitt jag vet är hygienen faktiskt godkänd. |
| As far as we can judge, the handling of the meat is unfortunately very bad. | Såvitt vi kan bedöma är hanteringen av köttet tyvärr mycket dålig. |
Common Combinations
You will frequently see såvitt paired with verbs related to knowledge, memory, or perception. Common phrases include såvitt jag vet (as far as I know), såvitt jag minns (as far as I remember), and såvitt jag kan se (as far as I can see).
| As far as he knows, there is no vermin behind that oven. | Såvitt han känner till finns det ingen ohyra bakom den där ugnen. |
| As far as I remember, all such handling is hazardous to health. | Såvitt jag minns är all sådan hantering hälsofarlig. |
| As far as I can see, they never use gloves in the kitchen. | Såvitt jag kan se använder de aldrig handskar i köket. |
The Inspector's Vocabulary
Health inspection reports rely on specific vocabulary to describe hazards and consequences, such as slarv (carelessness) and möglet (the mold), which can result in an anmärkning (official remark).
| The mold on that cutting board is actually hazardous to health. | Möglet på den där skärbrädan är faktiskt hälsofarligt. |
| That carelessness with the expiration date leads unfortunately to a remark. | Det där slarvet med utgångsdatumet leder tyvärr till en anmärkning. |
| As far as we understand, the chef does not care about the expiration date. | Såvitt vi förstår bryr sig kocken inte om utgångsdatumet. |