Expressing Alternatives: Vare sig ... eller
In diplomacy and international relations, you often need to state that a certain outcome is inevitable, regardless of the circumstances. To say "whether ... or" in Swedish, use the correlative conjunction vare sig ... eller.
| whether | vare sig |
A very common pattern is using vare sig ... eller inte (whether ... or not) to show that a situation will proceed regardless of someone's desires or other external factors.
| Whether the diplomat wants to or not, we must cooperate. | Vare sig diplomaten vill det eller inte, måste vi samarbeta. |
| The conflict will continue, whether the nation wants it or not. | Konflikten kommer att fortsätta, vare sig nationen vill det eller inte. |
| We will solve the conflict, whether it takes time or not. | Vi ska lösa konflikten, vare sig det tar tid eller inte. |
Connecting Qualities and Clauses
Vare sig ... eller is not just for actions. You can also use it to link adjectives, demonstrating that the characteristics of something do not change the main outcome.
| The treaty is important, whether it is new or old. | Fördraget är viktigt, vare sig det är nytt eller gammalt. |
| The international cooperation will be good, whether the nation is rich or poor. | Det internationella samarbetet kommer att bli bra, vare sig nationen är rik eller fattig. |
Finally, this conjunction frequently links entire clauses. When the vare sig phrase begins the sentence, remember that Swedish enforces the V2 rule (verb-second word order). The main clause that follows the comma must immediately start with its verb, before the subject.
| Whether we visit the embassy or not, the cooperation continues. | Vare sig vi besöker ambassaden eller inte, fortsätter samarbetet. |