Breakdown of Den överlevde oskadd i havsströmmen.
den
it (common)
i
in
överleva
to survive
oskadd
intact
havsströmmen
the ocean current
Questions & Answers about Den överlevde oskadd i havsströmmen.
Why does the adjective oskadd not have a -t or -a ending here?
Oskadd (unharmed or intact) is acting as a predicative adjective describing the subject Den (an en-word) during the action. Because it must agree with the common gender subject, it takes the base form. If the subject were a neuter ett-word like Det, it would become oskatt, and for a plural subject, it would be oskadda.
Could I say that it survived the ocean current directly, without using the preposition 'i'?
Yes! Just like in English, the verb överleva can be transitive and take a direct object. You can drop the preposition i and simply say Den överlevde havsströmmen (It survived the ocean current). Both versions are perfectly natural in Swedish.
Why is there an 's' right in the middle of havsströmmen?
This is a linking -s- (often called a foge-s). It is frequently used to glue two nouns together into a compound word, especially when the first noun, like hav (ocean), ends in a consonant. It makes the combined word flow much better when spoken.
Why does strömmen get a double 'm' when the base word ström only has one?
When the definite suffix -en is added to ström, the m doubles to become strömmen. This spelling rule ensures that the preceding ö is still pronounced as a short vowel. If it were spelled with one m, the rules of Swedish pronunciation would make the ö sound long.
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