# Swedish: Jag gick just förbi



## Setwale_Charm

I just want some clarifications. Does the above mean "I was just passing by" or "I have just passed by"? The context does not make it clear. In the latter case I would personally use another possibility: Jag har just gått förbi. but I am not sure. The Danish would say: Jeg gik netop forbi, that I know.


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## elroy

Based on my minuscule knowledge of Norwegian, I would say it means the former.


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## Setwale_Charm

That`s what I am myself inclined to believe, but I just want to make sure I do not misunderstand it. I felt it was something like " I was just passing by and decided to pop in".


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## elroy

Just for kicks, could you give us the context?


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## Lemminkäinen

Even the English is a bit unclear, so just to make my response as clear as possible, here are the possibilities:

A) I was just (a minute ago, not long ago) passing by

B) I was just (merely) passing by

Unless my Swedish is way off track, it means A.

In Norwegian we'd say "jeg gikk _akkurat_ forbi", while B) would be "jeg gikk _bare_ forbi". I think there's a word, *bare*, in Swedish that's used like the same Norwegian word, but I'm not 100% sure on that.


ETA: Rereading the original post, I see that perhaps my assumptions of the A and B possibilities may have been wrong...was this what you asked for, or were you wondering about whether it means "I have just..." or "I was just..."?


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## Setwale_Charm

See my post 3. My first (and more likely å stemme) assumption was your B: I was only passing by (and that`s why I decided to come and see you...)
 But I am not sure it cannot be your A - the Perfective meaning : I have just (very recently) passed by.

 In Swedish they have the word *bara* but this would simplify the matter indeed. *Just* is what plunges me into doubt.


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## Lemminkäinen

Hmm. I just did a Google search for "just site:se", and all of the hits at the first pages suggested it means the same as the Norwegian _akkurat_ - "just nu" (just now) is a usual term.

I don't really think it can be used in the same sense as the English 'just', but again, I can't say that with a 100% accuracy.


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## robbie_SWE

"_Jag gick just förbi_" means "_I just passed it_" or "_I just walked by_". 

As a Swede it doesn't sound like you were going to pop by for a visit. It's more like: 

-*Did you see that car?! (Såg du den där bilen)*
-*Yes, I just passed it. (Ja, jag gick just förbi)*

Hope this helped! 

 robbie


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## Setwale_Charm

Jasaa!! Tack saa mycket!!


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## Neutrino

Hello!
Robbie is right of course.

"I have just passed by" would be "Jag har just/precis gått förbi"

In this case the swedish words "just" and "precis" are synonyms.

"I just(only) passed two cars" would be "Jag passerade bara/endast två bilar"

In this case the english word "just" is "bara" or "endast" in swedish.


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## elroy

So how would you say "I was just passing by (and I decided to drop in for a chat)"?


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## robbie_SWE

Haha...that never happens here!!! Swedes always call you to warn you that they're coming. 

But if I would try to give it a go, I would say: 

"*Jag var i trakten och bestämde mig att komma på besök*" 
(*I was in the neigbourhood and decided to come for a visit*)

OBS! Never experienced somebody say this though. It's a cultural thing. 

 robbie


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## elroy

Ok but I was interested in "I was just passing by" and not that particular context.  

Let's use another sentence.

_I was just passing by and I noticed that a new house has been built in this neighborhood._

Basically, I am interested in a translation of the past progressive of "to pass by."


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## robbie_SWE

elroy said:


> _I was just passing by and I noticed that a new house has been built in this neighborhood._quote]
> 
> "*Gåendes förbi märkte jag att ett nytt hus hade byggts i kvarteret*"
> 
> Arghh...this is really making my brain overload! I can honestly say that I don't think that such a phrase ("just passing by") in that context exists. In the Swedish text I used the "gerundive".
> 
> robbie
> 
> PS: är jag helt fel ute eller finns det ingen motsvarighet i svenskan??!!


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## elroy

I'm not going to let you off the hook with an example that can be reworded that easily!  

How about this:

_-What were you doing in my neighboord last week?_
_-Nothing in particular.  I was just passing by (on my way to a friend's house_).

As for your PS, I guess it wasn't directed at me because if I knew the answer to that I wouldn't be asking you!


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## Lemminkäinen

> -What were you doing in my neighboord last week?
> -Nothing in particular. I was just passing by (on my way to a friend's house).



In the second one, you'd say "jeg gikk bare forbi / jeg var på vei til en venn" in Norwegian. Though you could say "jeg kom bare gående forbi" as well.



robbie_SWE said:


> PS: är jag helt fel ute eller finns det ingen motsvarighet i svenskan??!!



As I've said, Swedish grammar isn't my strong point, but we can't use it like that in Norwegian. 
I think you can only use the gerundive after another verb, as in "han kom gående", but I'm really not sure about that.


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## robbie_SWE

elroy said:


> I'm not going to let you off the hook with an example that can be reworded that easily!
> 
> How about this:
> 
> _-What were you doing in my neighboord last week?_
> _-Nothing in particular. I was just passing by (on my way to a friend's house_).
> 
> As for your PS, I guess it wasn't directed at me because if I knew the answer to that I wouldn't be asking you!


 
Ok! 

-_Vad gjorde du i mitt kvarter förra veckan?_ 
-_Ingenting särskillt. Jag bara passerade förbi (Jag var på väg till min kompis hus)_

 robbie


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## Hakro

robbie_SWE said:


> Arghh...this is really making my brain overload! I can honestly say that I don't think that such a phrase ("just passing by") in that context exists.
> 
> PS: är jag helt fel ute eller finns det ingen motsvarighet i svenskan??!!


Be careful with your brain! How about this:

 "Jag gick just förbi butiken när jag såg henne" = I was just passing the shop when I saw her.


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## elroy

So you can say _Jag bara *passerade* förbi _but not _Jag bara *gick* förbi _(with the meaning I'm interested in, of course)?


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## Neutrino

You can say both.
And you can change places between *bara* and *passerade*
and between *bara *and *gick.*


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## Anbo1987

Neutrino ... that's not correct. 

You can't change places since it would become incorrect. _Jag bara gick förbi_ is a gramatically incorrect sentance. 

It must be _Jag gick bara förbi. _


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## Lugubert

elroy said:


> _I was just passing by and I noticed that a new house has been built in this neighborhood._
> 
> Basically, I am interested in a translation of the past progressive of "to pass by."


Unless it's critically important to stress parallell or ongoing action(s), I see no reason for trying to imitate the "progressive", but happily use a straight past.

_Jag råkade gå förbi, och såg att man byggt ett nytt hus i området._

(That you seldom build old houses is a matter for another discussion.)



Anbo1987 said:


> Neutrino ... that's not correct.
> 
> You can't change places since it would become incorrect. _Jag bara gick förbi_ is a gramatically incorrect sentance.
> 
> It must be _Jag gick bara förbi. _


Beg to differ. Consider the response to "Don't touch!" - _Jag bara tittar_ would be as normal as _Jag tittar bara_. But my impression is that especially among younger people, _Jag ba(ra)_ ... is the rule in any context. Googling "jag bara" returns more than two and a half million hits.

Compound tenses is another matter. _Jag ska bara äta först_. I couldn't move that "bara".


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## Södertjej

Anbo1987 said:


> It must be _Jag gick bara förbi. _


That's exactly what Neutrino said (all those months ago): the word order in Elroy's sentence (jag bara gick förbi) should be changed.

Personally I'd also say: Jag gick förbi bara but maybe the context would be slightly different. In this case I'd just say "Jag råkade gå förbi", as Lugubert suggested.


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## jonquiliser

Lugubert said:


> Compound tenses is another matter. _Jag ska bara äta först_. I couldn't move that "bara".



Heavily colloquial: Jag ska äta ba' först.


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