Breakdown of Volten i luften är visserligen livsfarlig, men han missar den inte.
vara
to be
han
he
den
it (common)
inte
not
i
in
men
but
missa
to miss
visserligen
admittedly
livsfarlig
highly dangerous
luften
the air
volten
the somersault
Questions & Answers about Volten i luften är visserligen livsfarlig, men han missar den inte.
Even though it pairs with men, why does visserligen come after the verb är?
Although visserligen ... men works together as a pair meaning 'admittedly ... but', the word visserligen behaves grammatically as a sentence adverb. In a Swedish main clause, the sentence adverb must come after the finite (conjugated) verb, just like inte or alltid.
Why is the word order han missar den inte instead of han missar inte den?
This is due to a rule called 'object shift' which is very common in natural Swedish. When the object of a main clause is an unstressed pronoun (like den), it usually moves in front of the sentence adverb (inte). If the object were a full noun, inte would stay first: han missar inte volten.
How does the prefix livs- change the meaning of farlig in livsfarlig?
Adding livs- (life's) is a common way to intensify adjectives in Swedish. While farlig just means 'dangerous', livsfarlig literally means 'life-dangerous' and is used to mean 'life-threatening' or 'highly dangerous'. You will also see this in words like livsviktig (vitally important).
Does volten refer to electricity in this context?
No, en volt is a homonym in Swedish. Aside from the electrical unit, it is the standard word used in sports and gymnastics to mean a 'somersault' or 'flip'.
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