Breakdown of Om vi köpte en ny navigator? Nej, det gjorde vi verkligen inte.
det
it (neuter)
vi
we
en
a, an (common)
inte
not
Questions & Answers about Om vi köpte en ny navigator? Nej, det gjorde vi verkligen inte.
Why does this sentence start with Om when the English translation says 'Did we buy'?
This is an 'echo question,' which matches the focus of this lesson. The speaker is repeating a yes/no question that someone else just asked before answering it. In Swedish, you do this by starting with om (if/whether), as if you are saying 'Are you asking if we bought...?'
Since it ends with a question mark, why is the word order vi köpte (subject-verb) instead of the usual question word order köpte vi (verb-subject)?
Even though it is used as a standalone question here, an om-clause is grammatically a subordinate clause. Subordinate clauses almost always keep a straight subject-verb word order, even when they are left isolated as an echo like this.
What is the purpose of det in det gjorde vi verkligen inte?
In English, you can drop the main verb and just say 'we didn't.' Swedish generally doesn't leave the verb hanging like this. Instead, it uses göra (to do) as a substitute verb, and det (that) points back to the entire action of buying the navigator. Literally, it translates to 'No, that did we really not.'
Could I swap the adverbs and say inte verkligen?