Breakdown of Fyrvaktaren tittar ut då sikten plötsligt blir dålig.
bli
to become
ut
out (motion)
dålig
bad
titta
to look (direct your eyes)
plötsligt
suddenly
då
since, because
sikten
the visibility
fyrvaktaren
the lighthouse keeper
Questions & Answers about Fyrvaktaren tittar ut då sikten plötsligt blir dålig.
Wait, doesn't då usually mean 'then' or 'when'? How does it mean 'because' here?
You are right that då is most commonly used as an adverb meaning 'then' or a conjunction meaning 'when'. However, it can also act as a subordinating conjunction meaning 'since' or 'because' (very similar to eftersom). Using då for causality is slightly more formal or literary than using eftersom.
Could då in this exact sentence also be translated as 'when'?
Yes, it absolutely could! 'The lighthouse keeper looks out when the visibility suddenly gets bad' makes perfect sense. Då frequently carries a dual meaning of both time and cause, much like the English word 'as'. In this sentence, the exact line between time (the moment it gets bad) and cause (the reason he looks out) is completely blurred.
Why is plötsligt placed before the verb blir instead of after it?
Because the clause starting with då is a subordinate clause. This is a great place to remember the 'BIFF' rule for Swedish word order: in subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like plötsligt (suddenly) or inte (not) must be placed before the conjugated verb, which in this case is blir.
How do we break down the compound word fyrvaktaren?
It is made up of two parts: en fyr (a lighthouse) and vaktaren (the guard or the keeper, in its definite form). The word vaktare comes from the verb att vakta (to guard or watch over). Swedish frequently glues words together like this to create specific job titles.
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