Breakdown of Inte ens experten förstod livsfaran innan det var för sent.
vara
to be
det
it (neuter)
inte
not
innan
before
förstå
to understand
sent
late
för
too
experten
the expert
ens
even
livsfaran
the mortal danger
Questions & Answers about Inte ens experten förstod livsfaran innan det var för sent.
Why is the word order experten förstod instead of the inverted förstod experten? Doesn't starting with a negative trigger inversion?
In this sentence, the entire phrase Inte ens experten acts as the subject. Because the subject is in the first position, the verb förstod simply takes the normal second position (the V2 rule). You only invert the subject and verb if the sentence starts with something other than the subject, like an adverbial.
Could I translate 'not even' word-for-word and say inte även experten?
No, Swedish has a dedicated set phrase for 'not even', which is inte ens. You cannot combine inte and även to create this meaning.
How is the word livsfaran built, and what is the -s- doing in the middle?
It is a compound word made of liv (life) and fara (danger), put into the definite form faran (the danger). The -s- is a common linking consonant used to glue nouns together in Swedish compounds, making it literally 'the danger of life' or 'the mortal danger'.
Why is it för sent with a -t at the end instead of just för sen?
The adjective sen (late) must agree with the subject of its clause. Because the subject is the neuter dummy pronoun det (it) in the phrase det var för sent, the adjective takes the neuter -t ending to become sent.
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