Breakdown of Såvida slutaren inte är snabb, blir fotot oskarpt.
vara
to be
snabb
fast
inte
not
fotot
the photo
bli
to become
såvida
unless (used with inte)
oskarp
unsharp
slutaren
the shutter
Questions & Answers about Såvida slutaren inte är snabb, blir fotot oskarpt.
Why are såvida and inte separated by slutaren in this sentence?
Såvida introduces a subordinate clause. In Swedish subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like inte must come before the verb (this is often called the BIFF rule). Since slutaren is the subject, inte goes immediately after it and before the verb är.
Could I just use om... inte instead of såvida... inte?
Yes, om slutaren inte är snabb means essentially the same thing. Såvida inte is just a bit more formal and translates smoothly to 'unless' or 'provided that... not'. It puts a slightly stronger condition on the statement.
Why does the main clause start with the verb blir rather than the subject fotot?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire subordinate clause (Såvida slutaren inte är snabb) counts as the first block of information. To keep the main verb in the second position of the sentence, blir has to come right after the comma, before fotot.
Why is the word for blurry written as oskarpt with a 't' at the end?
Oskarp (blurry or unsharp) is an adjective describing fotot (the photo). Because foto is an ett word (ett foto), the adjective must take the neuter -t ending to agree with it.
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