Breakdown of Vad vi än gör, arbetar roboten.
vi
we
vad
what
göra
to do, to make
arbeta
to work (more formal than jobba)
än
ever (concessive particle)
roboten
the robot
Questions & Answers about Vad vi än gör, arbetar roboten.
How exactly does the phrase vad ... än create the meaning 'whatever'?
By pairing a question word like vad (what) with the adverb än, Swedish creates the equivalent of the English suffix '-ever'. So vad ... än translates to 'whatever'. Notice how these words wrap around the subject: vad vi än gör (whatever we do).
Could I put än right next to vad, like Vad än vi gör?
No, that sounds unnatural in Swedish. In these concessive clauses, the particle än needs to follow the subject of the clause. You should learn this as a set pattern: [Question word] + [subject] + än + [verb].
Sometimes I see som used in these phrases, like vad som än händer. Why isn't there a som in this sentence?
It depends on what the question word is doing in the sentence. In vad som än händer (whatever happens), vad is the subject of the verb, so the relative pronoun som is required. In our sentence, vi is the subject and vad is the object (we do what). When vad is the object, you do not use som.
Why does the second part of the sentence say arbetar roboten instead of roboten arbetar?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire first clause (Vad vi än gör) counts as the first block of information. Because the main sentence must have its verb in the second position, the main verb arbetar comes immediately after the comma, pushing its subject roboten to the other side.
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