General

Whereas subjunctions prototypically introduce embedded clauses (3.8.2), it is also possible to find them in front of constructions that lack a subject and a predicate: He is shorter than Ruth. Usually such constructions can be seen as reduced or truncated clauses. There are three main types: comparative subjunction clauses (1), predicative subjunctive clauses (2) and concessive subjunctive clauses (3):

(1) He is taller than Jim. He is more intelligent than beautiful. He is as fat as my brother.

(2) They will remain in the company as share-holders.

(3) Although tired, he managed to fly.

Swedish

The Swedish comparative subjunctive phrase consists of a comparative subjunction (än ‘than’ or som ‘as’) followed by a noun phrase or some other phrase that may function as a primary part of a clause:

(1) Johan är längre än Bertil. Han är snabbare än för ett år sedan.

Johan is longer than Bertil he is faster than for a year ago

(2) Johan är lika lång som Bertil. Han är lika snabb som för ett år sedan.

Johan is as long as Bertil he is as fast as for a year ago

A modifying adverbial is placed in front of the subjunctive:

(3) Han gick precis som du.

he walked just like you

Usually the basis of the comparison is mentioned in the matrix clause. This is not necessary, however:

(4) Johan skriver (likadant) som sin far.

Johan writes in.the-same-way as his father

When the complement of the subjunction is a noun phrase with a pronominal head that may inflect for case, it may turn up either as nominative or non-nominative:

(5) a. Johan är lika lång som jag/mig.

Johan is as tall as I / me

b. Johan är längre än jag/mig.

Johan is taller than I / me

The Swedish predicative subjunctive phrase consists of som/såsom ‘as / so as’ followed by a noun phrase, an adjective phrase or a participial phrase.

(6) a. Han arbetar som sekreterare.

he is-working as secretary

b. Nu är vintern som kallast.

now is winter.the as coldest

c. Som bosatt utomlands kände han inte till detta.

as living abroad knew he not to this

Living abroad he did not know this.

The Swedish concessivee subjunctive phrase consists of a concessive subjunction and a complement. The most common subjunctions are om än, ‘if though’, fastän ‘though, although’, fast ‘though, although’ or ehuru ‘though, although’. The complement is a phrase of the type that can function as predicative or adverbial, i.e. an adjective phrase or a participial phrase, a noun phrase, a prepositional phrase or an adverb phrase.

(7) a. Stilen var, ehuru djärv, ännu inte helt utmejslad.

style.the was, although intrepid, still not quite chiselled out

b. Han är lantbrukare, fast född i Stockholm.

he is farmer though born in Stockholm

c. Fastän kung kände han sig som en enkel medborgare.

although king felt he self as a simple citizen

d. Fastän inte utan besvär fick han upp dörren.

although not without trouble got he up door.the

He opened the door, although not without trouble.

e. Han var alltid snäll, om än ofta med stor självövervinnelse.

he was always kind if then often with great self-over-winning

He was always kind, even if often after a hard struggle with himself.

2.7. Agreement Phenomena at the phrase level

Swedish

In Swedish there is phrase internal agreement (concord) within noun phrases: determiners, quantifiers and adjectives/past participles agree with the head of the noun phrase in number and gender; in addition, the adjective has different forms for definite and indefinite noun phrases.

(1) a. Common gender singular: en röd bil den röda bilen all soppa

a red car the red.DEF car.the all soup

b. Common gender plural röda bilar de röda bilarna alla sopporna

red cars the red.DEF cars.the all soups.the

c. Neuter gender singular ett rött hus det röda huset allt ölet

a red house the red.DEF house.the all beer.the

d. Neuter gender plural röda hus de röda husen alla ölen

red houses the red.DEF houses.the all beers.the

(2) a. Common gender singular: en nybyggd stuga den nybyggda stugan

a newly-built cottage the newly-built.DEF cottage.the

b. Common gender plural nybyggda stugor de nybyggda stugorna

newly-built cottages the newly-built.DEF cottages.the

d. Neuter gender plural nybyggda hus de nybyggda husen

newly-built houses the newly-built.DEF houses.the