Breakdown of Schaktet är djupt, och innehåller därtill både guld och silver.
vara
to be
och
and
djup
deep
både
both
guldet
the gold
silvret
the silver
innehålla
to contain
schaktet
the shaft
därtill
moreover
Questions & Answers about Schaktet är djupt, och innehåller därtill både guld och silver.
How does the word därtill work here, and where does it come from?
Därtill is an additive connector meaning "moreover," "furthermore," or literally "in addition to that." It is a compound of där (there) and till (to). Here, it builds on the first fact (the shaft being deep) to introduce an even more impressive bonus fact (that it contains gold and silver).
Why doesn't the second clause have a subject, such as det (it)?
In Swedish, when two main clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction like och (and), you can drop the subject in the second clause if it's identical to the first. Since schaktet (the shaft) is the subject of both being deep and containing the metals, the second subject is simply left out.
Why is därtill placed after innehåller instead of right after och?
Because the subject was dropped, the verb innehåller naturally falls right after och. In Swedish main clauses, sentence adverbs like därtill usually go in the "midfield," which means immediately after the verb. If you had chosen to keep the subject, the order would be ...och det innehåller därtill....
Could I use dessutom or vidare instead of därtill in this sentence?
Yes, dessutom (besides / moreover) is a perfect synonym here and is very common in everyday speech. Vidare (furthermore) also works, but därtill feels especially natural because it strongly conveys "adding onto" the previously mentioned quality. Därtill is also slightly more formal, which fits this descriptive, almost literary context of a mine.
Just as a quick refresher, why is it djupt rather than djup?
The adjective must agree with the gender of the noun it describes. Because the noun is neuter (ett schakt), the adjective takes the neuter -t ending to become djupt.
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