Breakdown of Orsaken till spridningen av innehållet är själva algoritmen.
vara
to be
till
to (direction, destination)
av
of, by / from (cause)
algoritmen
the algorithm
Questions & Answers about Orsaken till spridningen av innehållet är själva algoritmen.
Why do we say orsaken till instead of orsaken av to mean 'the cause of'?
In Swedish, many abstract nouns require a specific preposition that doesn't match the English translation. En orsak (a cause) is almost always followed by till (literally 'to'). You can think of it as pointing toward the effect it creates. You just have to learn these combinations, like orsaken till and anledningen till, by heart.
Why does the sentence use av for 'of' in spridningen av innehållet, but not for orsaken till?
Av is the standard translation for 'of' when showing that something belongs to, originates from, or consists of something else (here, the content is what is being spread). However, orsak is an abstract noun that demands a specific preposition (till). When a noun has a fixed prepositional complement, that rule overrides the general use of av.
Why is the word for 'itself' written as själva here instead of själv?
When you want to emphasize 'the [noun] itself' (meaning this exact thing and not something else), you use the emphatic adjective själva right before a definite noun, like själva algoritmen. You use själv when it acts as a pronoun meaning 'by oneself' or 'personally', placed after the verb, as in jag gjorde det själv (I did it myself).