Breakdown of Han trodde att smaklökarna inte var helt förlamade.
vara
to be
han
he
inte
not
tro
to believe
att
that
helt
completely
förlamad
paralyzed
smaklöken
the taste bud
Questions & Answers about Han trodde att smaklökarna inte var helt förlamade.
Why use "helt" instead of "mycket" or "väldigt" here?
The adjective förlamade (paralyzed) is non-gradable, meaning you either are paralyzed or you aren't. You cannot be "very paralyzed" (mycket förlamad). Instead, we use absolute degree modifiers like helt (completely) or totalt (totally) to emphasize the state.
Why is "inte" placed before "var" in this sentence?
This is a subordinate clause introduced by att (that). In Swedish subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like inte must come before the finite verb (var). This rule is often called the BIFF-rule. If this were a main clause, the order would be Smaklökarna var inte helt förlamade.
What is the literal translation of "smaklökarna"?
It literally translates to "the taste onions". It is a compound of smak (taste) and lökarna (the onions, definite plural). In Swedish anatomy terms, bulb-shaped structures are often referred to as onions.
Why does "förlamade" end in an "-e"?
Because it describes a plural subject (smaklökarna). The word förlamad acts as an adjective here (specifically, it is a past participle), and it must agree in number with the noun it describes. For plural nouns, past participles ending in -ad change to -ade.
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