Breakdown of Handslaget går strålande bara du inte är nervös.
vara
to be
du
you (singular)
inte
not
gå
to go, to walk
nervös
nervous
bara
provided that, as long as
handslaget
the handshake
strålande
brilliant (radiant, glorious)
Questions & Answers about Handslaget går strålande bara du inte är nervös.
Wait, doesn't bara usually mean 'only' or 'just'? How is it working in this sentence?
Yes, but here bara is acting as a subordinating conjunction that introduces a condition. In this structure, it means 'provided that' or 'as long as'. It is a very common and natural way to express a strong condition in Swedish without having to use longer formal phrases.
Could I use om (if) to express this same condition?
Yes, you could say om du bara inte är nervös (if you just aren't nervous). Using bara entirely on its own to connect the clauses is simply a shorter, highly idiomatic way to say 'as long as'.
Why is inte placed before the verb är in the second half of the sentence?
Because bara acts as a subordinating conjunction here, which makes bara du inte är nervös a subordinate clause. This triggers the famous BIFF rule: in a subordinate clause, sentence adverbs like inte must be placed before the finite verb.
I know strålande translates to 'brilliantly' here, but what kind of word is it structurally?
It is the present participle of the verb stråla (to radiate or shine). Just like in English where '-ing' words can act as adjectives or adverbs (e.g., 'a shining example'), Swedish present participles ending in -ande or -ende are frequently used to describe how an action is performed.
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