Breakdown of Allt går bra, bara du är uppriktig och inte kritiserar dem.
vara
to be
du
you (singular)
och
and
inte
not
bra
good / well
gå
to go, to walk
dem
them
allt
everything / all (neuter)
bara
provided that, as long as
uppriktig
sincere
kritisera
to criticize
Questions & Answers about Allt går bra, bara du är uppriktig och inte kritiserar dem.
How does bara mean 'as long as' in this sentence?
While you likely learned bara as an adverb meaning 'only' or 'just', here it acts as a subordinating conjunction. In this role, it introduces a strict condition for the main clause to happen, translating perfectly to 'as long as', 'provided that', or 'if only'.
Why is inte placed before the verb kritiserar?
This is a great example of the BIFF rule in action! Because bara introduces a subordinate (dependent) clause, sentence adverbs like inte must come before the conjugated verb. If this were a standalone main clause, it would be Du kritiserar inte dem.
Why does the Swedish sentence use the present tense går instead of a future tense like kommer att gå?
Swedish frequently uses the present tense to describe future events, especially when the context implies the future or there is a conditional statement attached. You could absolutely say Allt kommer att gå bra, but Allt går bra is very common and sounds completely natural.
Why isn't the pronoun du repeated before inte kritiserar?
Because the two verbs (är and kritiserar) share the exact same subject (du) and are joined by the conjunction och within the same subordinate clause. Swedish smoothly drops the second pronoun to avoid repetition, just like English does.
Learn Allt går bra, bara du är uppriktig och inte kritiserar dem and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free