Swedish: An Essential Grammar, 2nd edition

Han träffade henne aldrig.
He never met her.
OA– 
←⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
OA+ see 12.7.3 f
Vi
kunde
–
trots halkan köra –
fort.
We could, despite the slippery conditions, drive fast.
2 Occasionally, as in the case of inte, this leftward movement is not
accommodated within the positional scheme:
T
FV
S
CA
NFV
O/C
OA
←⎯⎯⎯⎯
inte
see 12.7.5
Dricker inte
Olle
–
–
vin?
Doesn’t Olle drink wine?
3 Some elements that are stressed, such as subjects introducing new
information, may be postponed (moved rightwards):
T
FV
S
CA
NFV
O/C
OA X
2
S(NP)+ 
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯→
S(NP)+
Det
har
–
inte kommit några brev idag.
No letters have come today.
S(IP/subcl)+ 
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯→
S(IP/subcl)+
Det
är
–
–
–
tråkigt
–
att få vänta
på brev.
It’s annoying having to wait for letters.
Notes:
(NP = indefinite noun phrase, IP = infinitive phrase, subcl = subordinate clause)
see 12.7.7.
Det (place holder subject) replaces the subject in this case.
12
Word order
and sentence
structure
194

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4 In passive transformation both leftward and rightward movements occur
simultaneously:
T
FV
S
CA
NFV O/C
Agent
OA
A–
B+
En flicka körde
–
–
–
lastbilen.
A girl drove the truck.
B–
(A+)
see 12.7.6
Lastbilen kördes –
–
–
–
av en flicka.
The truck was driven by a girl.
Adverbial shift
The OA may occupy the OA or T positions, but may also be moved to
the CA position in order to leave an element in the final stressed position:
Han utnämndes till generalsekreterare i FN 1953 (OA).
He was appointed Secretary General of the United Nations in 1953.
Han utnämndes 1953 (OA) till generalsekreterare i FN.
He was in 1953 appointed Secretary General of the United Nations.
Moving the OA leftwards may make the expression more formal:
Han har stannat hemma under de senaste dagarna (OA).
He has stayed home over the past few days.