Breakdown of Kan vi inte schemalägga mötet idag, och kan vi inte heller boka om det?
det
it (neuter)
vi
we
och
and
idag
today
inte
not
kunna
to be able to, can
mötet
the meeting
heller
either (in negative sentences, e.g. not either)
boka om
to reschedule
schemalägga
to schedule
Questions & Answers about Kan vi inte schemalägga mötet idag, och kan vi inte heller boka om det?
Why are inte and heller placed exactly where they are in the second clause?
Because this is a question, the verb and subject are inverted (kan vi). In inverted main clauses, sentence adverbs must come immediately after the subject. When they are used together, inte always sits right before heller to form the phrase 'not... either'.
Can I just use heller by itself here, like ...och kan vi heller boka om det?
No, just like the English word 'either' in a negative sentence, heller needs a negative word to lean on. You must include inte (or another negative word like aldrig or ingen) to make it work. Together, inte heller functions as the full phrase 'not... either' or 'neither'.
Why is the word om used in boka om det?
Boka om is a particle verb that means 'to reschedule' or 'to rebook'. The particle om frequently adds the meaning of doing something again or doing it over, similar to the prefix 're-' in English. You will also see this in verbs like göra om (redo) and skriva om (rewrite).
Is it possible to skip the second kan vi and just say ...och inte heller boka om det?
Yes! Because the subject (vi) and the auxiliary verb (kan) are identical in both halves of the sentence, you can drop them after och to sound more concise. Repeating them, as this sentence does, simply gives the second question a bit more rhetorical emphasis.
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