Breakdown of Föga känner astronomen till fenomenet i galaxen.
i
in
känna till
to know of, to be aware of
föga
hardly (little, not much)
astronomen
the astronomer
fenomenet
the phenomenon (scientific or remarkable)
galaxen
the galaxy
Questions & Answers about Föga känner astronomen till fenomenet i galaxen.
Why does the sentence start with föga instead of the subject astronomen?
Starting a sentence with a restrictive adverb like föga (little) is called stylistic fronting. It adds a dramatic, rhetorical emphasis, very similar to saying "Little does he know" in English. Because Swedish is a V2 (verb-second) language, moving föga to the first position forces the subject (astronomen) to swap places and sit right after the verb (känner).
Why is till used in this sentence? Doesn't känna already mean "to know"?
On its own, känna usually means "to feel" or "to know a person". To express knowing about a fact, a concept, or the existence of something, Swedish uses the phrasal verb känna till. Since the astronomer knows about a phenomenon, we must use känna ... till.
Could we keep the phrasal verb together and write Föga känner till astronomen fenomenet?
No, you cannot. In a main clause with inverted word order, the verb (känner) moves to the V2 position, but the particle (till) stays behind in its original structural spot. This forces the subject (astronomen) to sit directly between the verb and its particle.
How would you write this sentence with standard, non-dramatic word order?
You would put the subject first and place the adverb after the verb: Astronomen känner föga till fenomenet i galaxen. Note that föga is quite formal and literary; in everyday speech, you would be much more likely to replace it and say Astronomen känner nästan inte till fenomenet.
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