kunne (can — full paradigm)

This is the conjugation reference for kunne, the Norwegian modal that does the work English splits across "can," "could," "may," and "might." If you want the deep semantic treatment of each sense, see kan / kunne: Ability and Possibility; this page is the paradigm itself — every form, the irregular endingless present, and the quirk that the infinitive and the preterite are spelled identically.

Principal parts

Kunne is a "pure" modal. That has two consequences for the table below: the present has no -r ending (it is kan, never kanner), and there is no imperative — you cannot command someone to be able to do something.

One form serves every subject — jeg kan, du kan, hun kan, vi kan, dere kan, de kan. There is no agreement and no -r anywhere in the present.

The infinitive = preterite trap

The single most confusing fact about this verb for English speakers: the infinitive kunne and the preterite kunne are spelled and pronounced identically. English keeps them apart ("to be able" vs. "could"), but Norwegian collapses them into one form, and only the surrounding words tell you which is which.

The infinitive shows up after another modal or after å:

The preterite stands as the main, finite verb of its clause:

In jeg vil kunne the first verb (vil) is finite, so the second kunne must be the infinitive. In han kunne ikke komme, kunne is itself the finite verb. Once you learn to spot which verb is carrying the tense, the ambiguity disappears — this is a quirk shared by several Norwegian modals (ville, skulle, måtte all do the same thing).

The bare-infinitive rule

After kunne — in any form — the following verb appears as a bare infinitive with no å. This is the defining trait of a modal. English does exactly the same thing ("I can swim," not "I can to swim"), so this rule is easy for English speakers, but it is worth stating because learners over-correct and insert å.

Sense map at a glance

The same forms cover four jobs. Context, not the verb form, picks the reading:

• Ability: Hun kan kjøre bil. — "She can drive."
• Possibility: Det kan bli regn. — "It might rain."
• Permission: Du kan gå nå. — "You may go now."
• Polite request (preterite): Kunne du sende meg saltet? — "Could you pass me the salt?"

kan + a language or skill = "know"

Here is where kunne steps outside the English "can." When kan is followed directly by a noun — a language, a subject, a song, a skill — it is no longer a modal at all but a full main verb meaning know or have mastered. English needs a different verb ("know," "have learned") and often a whole phrase ("know how to").

Notice there is no infinitive after kan in these sentences — just the noun. Jeg kan norsk literally patterns like "I master Norwegian." This is a genuinely useful idiom and one of the first things Norwegians will ask you: Kan du norsk? ("Do you speak Norwegian?").

The conditional kunne (ha) — softened requests and hypotheticals

The preterite kunne is also Norwegian's main tool for the polite conditional — the equivalent of English "could" and "could have." There is no separate would-style auxiliary needed: kunne alone, or kunne ha + supine for the past, carries it.

This is why a Norwegian shop assistant asks Kunne jeg hjelpe deg? ("Could I help you?") rather than the blunter present kan — the preterite softens. English does the identical thing (present "can" → polite "could"), so the instinct transfers; what's new is only that the same kunne form is doing it.

Register and regional notes

Kunne is fully neutral across registers — it appears in casual texting and in legal prose alike. Two practical notes:

• In fast informal speech, the supine kunnet is sometimes dropped after another modal in the perfect, but in writing you should keep it: jeg har ikke kunnet komme (formal/correct) is the safe form.
• The "double infinitive" pattern jeg skulle gjerne ha kunnet hjelpe ("I'd have liked to be able to help") stacks two modals and the supine kunnet. It is grammatical and not rare in careful speech, but learners can paraphrase it until it feels natural.

Common Mistakes