Breakdown of Jo, det som dykaren hittade var något värdefullt.
vara
to be
hitta
to find
något
something / any (ett-word)
som
who / which / that (relative pronoun)
värdefull
valuable
jo
yes (in response to a negative)
det
what, that which
dykaren
the diver
Questions & Answers about Jo, det som dykaren hittade var något värdefullt.
Why does värdefullt end in -t?
In Swedish, adjectives must agree with the noun or pronoun they describe. Because it describes något ("something"), which is a neuter indefinite pronoun, the adjective takes the neuter -t ending. This rule applies whenever an adjective follows något, inget (nothing), or allt (everything).
Could I use vad instead of det som to say "what the diver found"?
It is much more natural to use det som here. In Swedish, det som literally means "that which" or "the thing that", and it is used when "what" refers back to an unnamed thing in a statement. Vad is generally reserved for direct questions ("What did he find?") or indirect questions ("I don't know what he found").
Why does the sentence start with Jo instead of Ja?
Jo is a special word for "yes" that is primarily used to contradict a negative question or statement. For example, if someone previously asked, "Didn't the diver find anything?", you would answer with Jo. It is also sometimes used as a conversational filler similar to "Well..." in English.
Two verbs are next to each other (hittade var). Why doesn't this break the V2 rule?
Learn Jo, det som dykaren hittade var något värdefullt and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free