Breakdown of Såvitt jag minns är all sådan hantering hälsofarlig.
jag
I
vara
to be
all
all (singular en-words)
sådan
such, such a (sådant, sådana)
minnas
to remember
såvitt
as far as
hanteringen
the handling
hälsofarlig
hazardous to health
Questions & Answers about Såvitt jag minns är all sådan hantering hälsofarlig.
Can I use såvitt to talk about physical distance, like "as far as the next town"?
No, såvitt is a restrictive conjunction used strictly for abstract limits of knowledge, perception, or condition (like såvitt jag vet meaning "as far as I know"). To talk about physical distance, you would use så långt som instead.
Why are the verbs minns and är right next to each other?
This is the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire subordinate clause Såvitt jag minns acts as the first building block of the main sentence. Therefore, the main verb är must immediately follow it to take the second position, which pushes the main subject (all sådan hantering) to the third position. Direct English translation ("As far as I remember is all such handling...") feels unnatural, making this a common trap!
Why does the sentence use all sådan instead of allt sådant?
Both all (all) and sådan (such) must agree with the noun they modify, which is hantering (handling/management). Because hantering is an en-word, both take their en-word forms. If the noun were an ett-word, like arbete (work), the phrase would have to be allt sådant arbete.
Where does the 'o' in the middle of hälsofarlig come from?
Hälsofarlig (hazardous to health) is a compound of hälsa (health) and farlig (dangerous). When a Swedish noun ending in -a forms the first half of a compound word, that -a is very often swapped out for a linking -o-. You will see this same pattern in common words like veckoslut (from vecka) or människokropp (from människa).
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