Breakdown of Du kan endast komma in genom att följa klädkoden.
du
you (singular)
kunna
to be able to, can
komma in
to come in
följa
to follow
Questions & Answers about Du kan endast komma in genom att följa klädkoden.
Why does endast go between kan and komma in?
In a main clause, focus particles like endast (only) act as sentence adverbs. The rule in Swedish is that sentence adverbs come directly after the first verb (the finite verb, which is kan here) and before any other verbs (like the infinitive komma in).
Could I use bara instead of endast in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely! Bara and endast both mean "only". Endast sounds a bit more formal or strict, which makes sense here since it is talking about rules and dress codes. Bara is what you would normally use in everyday conversation.
English says "by following", so why does Swedish use the infinitive följa instead of an -ing equivalent?
In Swedish, the phrase genom att translates to "by doing [something]". The word att is the infinitive marker (like "to" in English), so it must always be followed by a verb in its infinitive form, which is följa here. Swedish doesn't use present participles (words ending in -ande or -ende) the same way English uses -ing words after prepositions.
Is komma in a particle verb here?