Breakdown of Då skäret var mycket avlägset, kom fartyget aldrig nära.
vara
to be
mycket
much / very
komma
to come
aldrig
never
fartyget
the ship
nära
close
då
since, because
skäret
the skerry
avlägsen
remote
Questions & Answers about Då skäret var mycket avlägset, kom fartyget aldrig nära.
How do we know that då means "since" here and not "when" or "then"?
Då can mean "when" or "then", but it is also widely used as a subordinating conjunction meaning "since" or "because". You can tell it means "since" here from the context: the remoteness of the skerry is the reason the ship didn't come close. In this causal sense, it functions exactly like eftersom.
Is there a difference in nuance between using då and eftersom for "since" in this sentence?
In terms of meaning, they are identical. However, using då to show causality sounds slightly more formal and is more common in written Swedish than eftersom, which is the most standard, neutral choice in everyday speech.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb kom instead of fartyget?
This is a classic example of the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire subordinate clause (Då skäret var mycket avlägset) acts as the first block of information. Therefore, the main clause must immediately start with the verb (kom) so the verb stays in the second position overall. The subject (fartyget) and sentence adverb (aldrig) then follow.
Why does the adjective avlägset end in -t here?
It must agree with the noun it describes. Because skär is an ett word (ett skär, seen here in the definite form skäret), the adjective takes the neuter -t ending. If it were describing an en word, it would be avlägsen.
What exactly is a skär in Swedish geography?
A skär (translated as "skerry") is a small, rocky island or reef, highly typical of the Swedish coast and archipelago (which is literally called a skärgård). They are usually too small to be inhabited, which fits the context of a ship avoiding a remote, rocky obstacle.
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