Breakdown of Hon fortsätter fastän varje steg är tungt.
vara
to be
hon
she
tung
heavy
varje
every, each
fortsätta
to continue
fastän
even though
steget
the step
Questions & Answers about Hon fortsätter fastän varje steg är tungt.
Is there a difference between using fastän and fast in a sentence like this?
They both mean "even though" or "although" and can be used interchangeably here! Fastän sounds slightly more formal or written, while fast is very common in everyday spoken Swedish.
Why is the word order normal (varje steg är) after fastän? Doesn't Swedish usually swap the verb and subject?
Fastän is a subordinating conjunction, which means it starts a sub-clause (a dependent clause). In Swedish sub-clauses, the subject always comes right before the verb. If you wanted to add a word like "not" (inte), it would actually squeeze in before the verb here: fastän varje steg inte är tungt.
Why does tungt end in a -t here instead of just being tung?
Adjectives have to match the noun they describe. Because ett steg (a step) is an ett-word, the adjective tung (heavy) needs to take the ett-word ending, becoming tungt.
Since steg is an ett-word, why doesn't varje change its ending to match it?
The word varje (every) is a handy exception! Unlike most describing words, varje never changes its shape. It stays exactly the same whether you use it with an en-word or an ett-word.
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