Questions & Answers about Berget var för brant för att klättra upp.
Why does the word för appear twice in this sentence?
The first för means "too" (as in för brant, meaning "too steep"). The second för is part of the phrase för att, which acts as "to" or "in order to" here. The structure för + [adjective] + för att + [infinitive] is the standard Swedish way to express that something is "too [adjective] to do [action]".
If the English translation is "too steep to climb", why can't we just say för brant att klättra?
When expressing that an excessive quality prevents an action, Swedish strictly requires för att before the verb. Using just att (the simple infinitive marker) would sound incomplete to a native speaker because this specific construction needs the "in order to" meaning that för att provides.
Since we don't know who is climbing the mountain, should the verb be in the passive form?
It is perfectly fine to use the active infinitive (klättra upp) here, just like in English. While you could technically use the passive form (klättras upp), the active version is very common and natural when making general statements about what is possible or impossible to do.
Why include upp at the end? Doesn't climbing a mountain already imply going up?