Breakdown of De flesta idrottare älskar maratonet, oavsett distans.
älska
to love
de flesta
most (countable)
idrottaren
the athlete
oavsett
regardless of
Questions & Answers about De flesta idrottare älskar maratonet, oavsett distans.
Why isn't there an equivalent for "of" after oavsett?
In English, we say "regardless of", but in Swedish, oavsett works directly as a preposition. You don't need to add av (of) after it. It attaches straight to the noun phrase, as in oavsett distans.
The lesson mentions oavsett can introduce noun phrases or clauses. Which is happening here?
Here, oavsett is acting as a preposition introducing a noun phrase (distans). If it were introducing a clause, it would act as a conjunction and usually be followed by a question word like om (if/whether) or vad (what), such as oavsett om det är långt (regardless of whether it is long).
Why is the noun idrottare indefinite here? Doesn't "most athletes" refer to a specific group?
In Swedish, the phrase de flesta (most) must be followed by a noun in its indefinite plural form. Because idrottare (athlete) ends in -are, its indefinite plural is identical to its singular form.