Breakdown of Vem intelligensen än studerar, analyserar den mänsklig natur.
den
it (common)
vem
who
naturen
the nature
analysera
to analyze
studera
to study (formal, at university)
än
ever (concessive particle)
intelligensen
the intelligence
mänsklig
human
Questions & Answers about Vem intelligensen än studerar, analyserar den mänsklig natur.
How does the vem ... än structure work here?
It creates the concessive meaning 'whoever'. In Swedish, you usually split the question word (vem) and the word än, placing the subject of the clause (intelligensen) between them.
Why does än come before the verb studerar?
Because Vem intelligensen än studerar is a subordinate clause. In Swedish subordinate clauses, adverbs like än must be placed before the verb. This is often remembered by the BIFF rule, which dictates that sentence adverbs go before the finite verb in a subclause.
Is vem the subject or the object of the studying?
It is the object! The intelligence (intelligensen) is the one doing the studying. If 'whoever' were the subject, you would have to add the relative pronoun som, making it Vem som än studerar intelligensen (Whoever studies the intelligence).
Why does the second half of the sentence start with the verb analyserar?
This is the classic Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire first concessive clause (Vem intelligensen än studerar) acts as the first block of information. To keep the verb in the second position of the main sentence, the verb analyserar must come right after it, followed by its subject den.
Why is 'human nature' translated as mänsklig natur without any articles?
Just like in English, abstract and general concepts are often uncountable and do not take an article in Swedish. Since we are talking about human nature as a broad, uncountable concept, the indefinite adjective mänsklig and the bare noun natur are all you need.
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