både...och

Both...and

Level 2

Use både...och to say 'both...and'. It connects two similar things.

How It Works

både...och is a correlative conjunction in Swedish, equivalent to 'both...and' in English. It's used to join two elements of the same grammatical type, emphasizing that both are included.

Structure:
The basic structure is både [element 1] och [element 2].

It can connect various parallel structures:

  • Nouns: `Jag gillar både katter och hundar.` (I like both cats and dogs.)
  • Adjectives: `Vädret är både kallt och blåsigt.` (The weather is both cold and windy.)
  • Verbs: `Han kan både läsa och skriva.` (He can both read and write.)
  • Adverbs: `Hon kör både snabbt och säkert.` (She drives both quickly and safely.)

When både...och coordinates distinct people as the subject, the reference is plural, but modern Swedish verbs have no separate plural form. A predicate adjective normally shows plural agreement: Både Anna och Erik är glada.
Example: `Både jag och min bror bor i Sverige.` (Both I and my brother live in Sweden.)

This construction is very common and is a more emphatic way of connecting two items than just using och (and). It is part of a family of correlative conjunctions that includes antingen...eller (either...or) and varken...eller (neither...nor).

Examples (5)

  1. Jag talar både svenska och engelska.

    I speak both Swedish and English.

    Word by Word: I speak both Swedish and English.

  2. Maten var både god och billig.

    The food was both good and cheap.

    Word by Word: The-food was both good and cheap.

  3. Hon kan både spela gitarr och sjunga.

    She can both play the guitar and sing.

    Word by Word: She can both play guitar and sing.

  4. Både Anna och Erik kommer till festen.

    Both Anna and Erik are coming to the party.

    Word by Word: Both Anna and Erik come to the-party.

    Anna and Erik together form the coordinated subject. Kommer has the same form as with one person; Swedish does not use a special plural verb form.

  5. Vi besökte både Stockholm och Göteborg.

    We visited both Stockholm and Gothenburg.

    Word by Word: We visited both Stockholm and Gothenburg.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the 'och' part of the pair.

    Jag gillar både katter, hundar.
    Jag gillar både katter och hundar.

    'både' must always be paired with 'och'. They work together as a single unit to mean 'both...and'.

  • Placing 'både' incorrectly, separating it from the first element.

    Både jag gillar kaffe och te.
    Jag gillar både kaffe och te.

    'både' should be placed immediately before the first of the two elements being connected. Here, the elements are 'kaffe' and 'te', not the subject 'jag'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

både...ochLevel 2Both...and

Learn This First

To use 'både...och' (both...and), you first need to understand the basic conjunction 'och' and how to structure simple sentences. This pattern allows you to emphasize that two different things are equally included in a statement.

Words in This Pattern

bådeoch