Breakdown of ”Jag kan inte urskilja något alls”, sa hon, men hon körde på oförtröttligt.
jag
I
hon
she
inte
not
kunna
to be able to, can
men
but
något
something / any (ett-word)
säga
to say
köra
to drive
alls
at all
på
on (continuative aspectual particle)
oförtröttligt
tirelessly
urskilja
to discern
Questions & Answers about ”Jag kan inte urskilja något alls”, sa hon, men hon körde på oförtröttligt.
How does the particle på change the meaning of körde in this sentence?
The particle på acts as a continuative marker, meaning to "keep doing" an action without stopping. While köra simply means "to drive", köra på means "to keep driving" or "to press on" despite obstacles (like not being able to see!). When spoken, the emphasis is placed heavily on på.
What is the literal breakdown of the verb urskilja?
It comes from the prefix ur- (out, from) and the verb skilja (to separate, part, or divide). Together they literally mean "to separate out", which translates smoothly to "discern", "distinguish", or "make out" visually or audibly.
Could I use ingenting alls instead of något alls here?
You could only do that if you removed inte. Since the sentence already uses inte (not), adding ingenting (nothing) would create an unnatural double negative. The structure inte... något alls exactly matches the English "not... anything at all".
How can I easily make sense of a long word like oförtröttligt?
Look for the root word: trött means "tired". The surrounding parts o- (un-) and för-...-lig (-able) create an adjective meaning "untiring" or "indefatigable". The final -t turns it into an adverb, telling us how she kept going: "tirelessly".
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