Breakdown of Karusellen är varken snabb eller långsam, den är lagom.
vara
to be
den
it (common)
snabb
fast
långsam
slow
Questions & Answers about Karusellen är varken snabb eller långsam, den är lagom.
Does the word lagom ever change its ending to match ett-words or plural nouns?
No, lagom is an indeclinable adjective. This means its form is frozen. Whether you are describing an en-word like karusellen, an ett-word, or multiple things, it always stays exactly as lagom.
Why is eller translated as "nor" here when it normally means "or"?
In Swedish, the fixed pair varken ... eller is used to say "neither ... nor". Even though eller by itself means "or", it always translates to "nor" when it follows varken.
Why are snabb and långsam in their base forms here?
They are describing karusellen (the carousel), which is an en-word. Unlike the frozen word lagom, regular adjectives must agree with the noun. If the sentence was about an ett-word like tåget (the train), they would change to snabbt and långsamt.
Why does the sentence use den for "it" instead of det?
When saying "it" in Swedish, you must match the gender of the noun you are referring back to. Since karusell is an en-word, "it" becomes den. If it were an ett-word, you would use det.