Breakdown of De byggde upp företaget från ingenting.
från
from
företaget
the company
ingenting
nothing
bygga upp
to build up
Questions & Answers about De byggde upp företaget från ingenting.
How does the particle upp change the meaning of the verb here?
Similar to how particles like om or vidare change a verb's aspect, upp adds a sense of completion or development. De byggde företaget just means they built the company, but byggde upp emphasizes the process of growing it from scratch to an established state.
In English, we can say 'built the company up' or 'built up the company'. Does Swedish allow both word orders?
No. In Swedish, the particle upp must stay directly after the verb byggde when the object is a noun like företaget. You cannot split the particle verb and say De byggde företaget upp.
Where does the stress fall when pronouncing byggde upp?
Because this is a particle verb, the stress falls heavily on the particle upp, while the verb byggde is unstressed. This helps listeners know that upp is acting as a particle rather than a simple preposition.
Could I use inget instead of ingenting at the end of the sentence?
Yes, från inget is also grammatically correct and means the same thing. However, ingenting sounds a bit more emphatic, which works well here to highlight the absolute nothingness they started from.
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