Questions & Answers about Varken golvet eller bordet är slitet.
Why is the word for "worn" written as slitet instead of sliten or slitent?
The base form of the adjective is sliten (worn). Because it describes the neuter nouns golvet and bordet, it needs a neuter ending. For adjectives ending in an unstressed -en, we do not just add a -t; instead, we replace the -en completely with -et, making it slitet.
How does the "neither... nor" structure work in this sentence?
The phrase uses the pair varken (neither) and eller (or/nor). In Swedish, you use varken [A] eller [B] to say "neither [A] nor [B]". Notice that you do not need to add a negative word like inte (not), because varken already makes the sentence negative.
Why is the verb är singular when we are talking about two things (the floor and the table)?
Just like in English ("Neither the floor nor the table is..."), when you connect singular subjects with varken... eller, the verb and the following adjective agree with the singular subjects. That is why we use är and the singular neuter adjective slitet instead of their plural forms.
Are golv and bord both neuter words?