"Not Even" (Inte ens)
When describing a disastrous amateur talent show, simple negation might not be enough to capture the chaos. To emphasize just how poorly things went, you can use the negative focus particle inte ens, which means "not even".
The most important rule for inte ens is placement: it must sit directly before the specific word or phrase it emphasizes.
Modifying the Action
When you want to emphasize that an action itself didn't happen, inte ens behaves like a standard sentence adverb. Place it in the usual spot for negations—typically right after the finite verb.
| Because of stage fright, the juggler did not even try. | På grund av scenskräck försökte jonglören inte ens. |
| The organizer did not even want to see the talent show. | Arrangören ville inte ens se talangjakten. |
| The audience did not even look at the unprepared juggler. | Publiken tittade inte ens på den oförberedda jonglören. |
Modifying the Subject
If you want to emphasize that "not even [the subject]" performed the action, inte ens moves to the very beginning of the sentence, sitting directly in front of the subject.
Notice how inte ens and the subject combine to form a single constituent block. Together, they take up the first position in the sentence, allowing the verb to stay perfectly in its required second position (the V2 rule).
| Not even the judges booed at the fiasco. | Inte ens juryn buade åt fiaskot. |
| Not even the curtain could hide his stage fright. | Inte ens ridån kunde dölja hans scenskräck. |