Breakdown of Hissen är antingen trasig eller långsam.
vara
to be
långsam
slow
eller
or
trasig
broken
antingen
either
hissen
the elevator
Questions & Answers about Hissen är antingen trasig eller långsam.
How does the pair antingen ... eller work in this sentence?
Antingen ... eller translates directly to "either ... or" in English. You use them together to present two alternatives. Just like in English, they go right before the two choices being offered, which in this case are the adjectives trasig (broken) and långsam (slow).
Would the adjectives change if the noun was an ett-word, like tåget (the train)?
Yes! Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because hissen comes from an en-word (en hiss), both adjectives take their basic forms: trasig and långsam. If you were talking about tåget (an ett-word), you would add a -t to both to make them trasigt and långsamt.
If antingen ... eller means "either ... or", how would I say "neither ... nor" for this elevator?
You would use the negative pair varken ... eller. To say "The elevator is neither broken nor slow", you would simply swap the words and say Hissen är varken trasig eller långsam.
What if I want to start the sentence with antingen, like "Either the elevator is broken, or..."?
If you start the sentence with antingen, it takes up the first position in the sentence. Because Swedish uses the "V2 rule" (the verb must come in the second position), the verb must come right after it. You would have to say Antingen är hissen trasig... (literally: "Either is the elevator broken...").
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