Breakdown of Det gäller att inspektera den där målningen noga.
att
to
den där
that (en)
det
there (dummy subject)
noga
carefully
målningen
the painting (painted artwork)
det gäller att
to be crucial, to matter
inspektera
to inspect (general, to examine)
Questions & Answers about Det gäller att inspektera den där målningen noga.
How does the phrase det gäller att translate to "it is crucial to"?
The verb gäller on its own usually means "applies" or "is valid," but the impersonal phrase det gäller att is a common idiom meaning "it is important to," "it is necessary to," or "it's all about." It is followed directly by an infinitive verb (here, inspektera) to express that an action is a crucial requirement.
Could I just say man måste inspektera instead of det gäller att inspektera?
Yes, man måste (one must) conveys a very similar meaning. However, det gäller att shifts the focus away from the person doing the action and entirely onto the action itself. It adds a tone of high importance or presents a critical condition for success, similar to saying "the key is to inspect" in English.
Why does målningen have the definite -en ending if we already have den där (that) before it?
This is the Swedish double definiteness rule at work. Whenever you use the demonstrative phrases den här (this) or den där (that), the noun that follows must also be in its definite form. That is why we use målningen (the painting) instead of just the indefinite målning.
Can I use noggrant instead of noga as the adverb for "closely" here?
Yes, you can. Both noga and noggrant work perfectly well as adverbs meaning "carefully," "thoroughly," or "closely" in this context. Noga is very common in everyday spoken Swedish, while noggrant can sound just a bit more formal, but they are completely interchangeable here.
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