Word
Ska rymdskeppet vara lika snabbt som ljuset?
Meaning
Is the spaceship said to be as fast as light?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ska rymdskeppet vara lika snabbt som ljuset?
vara
to be
snabb
fast
lika
equally / as
som
as (in comparisons)
Questions & Answers about Ska rymdskeppet vara lika snabbt som ljuset?
Wait, doesn't ska usually mean "will" or "is going to"? Why does it mean "is said to be" here?
You are right that ska normally shows future intention. But here we see its epistemic use—meaning it expresses a rumor, hearsay, or an unverified claim. When you use ska + a bare infinitive like vara, it often translates to "is said to be" or "is supposed to be." The speaker is asking if the spaceship is rumored to be that fast, rather than predicting its future speed.
Why is the adjective snabbt in the t-form here?
It has to agree with the subject of the sentence, rymdskeppet (the spaceship). Because skepp is an ett-word, any adjective describing it must take the neuter -t ending, becoming snabbt instead of snabb.
Why does the sentence use the definite form ljuset (the light) when the English translation just says "light"?
In Swedish, uncountable nouns that represent abstract or general concepts—like light, time, nature, or life—almost always take the definite article. So while English compares the speed to "light" in general, Swedish requires the definite ljuset.
Is lika + adjective + som the standard way to say "as [adjective] as"?