Breakdown of Kameran fungerar bra såvida sensorn inte är skadad.
vara
to be
inte
not
bra
good / well
kameran
the camera
fungera
to work / to function (machines, devices) / to act as, serve as
skadad
injured
såvida
unless (used with inte)
sensorn
the sensor
Questions & Answers about Kameran fungerar bra såvida sensorn inte är skadad.
How does såvida translate to 'unless' in this sentence?
Såvida actually means 'provided that' or 'insofar as'. It creates the meaning of 'unless' only when it is paired with a negative word like inte. So, såvida sensorn inte är skadad literally means 'provided that the sensor is not damaged', which perfectly matches the English 'unless'.
Why does inte come before the verb är?
Because såvida introduces a subordinate clause (dependent clause). In Swedish, subordinate clauses follow a strict word order where sentence adverbs like inte must be placed before the first verb. This is often taught as the BIFF rule.
Can I just use om ... inte instead of såvida ... inte here?
Yes, om sensorn inte är skadad means the same thing and is very common in everyday speech. Såvida inte sounds a bit more formal or precise, much like choosing 'provided it is not' over 'if it is not' in English.
Why does the word skadad end in -d rather than -t?
Skadad (damaged) is a past participle working as an adjective describing sensorn. Because sensor is an en-word (en sensor), the descriptive word must take the matching en-word ending -d.
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