Breakdown of Problemet växte i takt med att vi inte renade avloppsvattnet.
vi
we
inte
not
problemet
the problem
växa
to grow
i takt med att
as / at the same pace as (concurrently)
avloppsvattnet
the wastewater
rena
to purify
Questions & Answers about Problemet växte i takt med att vi inte renade avloppsvattnet.
Why use i takt med att here instead of just medan or när for 'as'?
The phrase i takt med att literally means 'in pace with that'. It is used specifically to show tandem progression, meaning two things are changing or developing at the same time and in correlation with each other. Words like medan (while) or när (when) just show two things happening at the same time, without emphasizing that parallel growth or decline.
Why does inte come before the verb renade?
Because i takt med att introduces a subordinate clause. In Swedish subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like inte must be placed before the conjugated verb. This is a great place to recall the 'BIFF' rule, which stands for Bisats, Inte Före Finita verbet (In a subordinate clause, 'inte' goes before the finite verb).
How is the compound word avloppsvattnet built?
It is made up of avlopp (drain or sewage) and vatten (water). They are joined by a connecting -s-, which is very common when building Swedish compound nouns. Finally, the -et at the end is the definite suffix, making it 'the wastewater'.
Do the verbs in the main clause and the i takt med att clause always have to be in the same tense?
Almost always, yes. Because i takt med att describes two processes happening and developing simultaneously, the verbs normally share the exact same timeframe. In this sentence, both växte and renade are in the past tense.
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