Jeg måtte låne sukker af naboen.

I had to borrow sugar from the neighbor.

Breakdown of Jeg måtte låne sukker af naboen.

• jeg: I
• sukkeret: the sugar
• naboen: the neighbor
• låne: to borrow
• af: from
• måtte: to have to

Questions & Answers about Jeg måtte låne sukker af naboen.

Does the Danish modal verb in Jeg måtte låne sukker af naboen indicate necessity or permission?

It can express either:

• Necessity: you were compelled by circumstances (most common reading in everyday speech).
• Permission: you were allowed to.

Context decides. If you want to remove ambiguity, see the next two questions.

How can I say this unambiguously as necessity (had to)?

Use one of these:

• Jeg var nødt til at låne sukker af naboen.
• Jeg blev nødt til at låne sukker af naboen. (often feels like you ended up having to)

How can I say it unambiguously as permission (was allowed to)?

Use:

• Jeg fik lov til at låne sukker af naboen. You can also use present-tense må for permission in the moment: Må jeg låne …?

Why is there no at before låne?

Because måtte is a modal verb. In Danish, modals take a bare infinitive (no at):

• måtte låne, kan gøre, vil sige, skal betale, bør tænke. With non-modals, you use at: nødt til at låne, prøver at låne.

Why is it af and not fra for “from the neighbor”?

With verbs of receiving/borrowing/getting from a person, Danish uses af:

• låne af, få af, købe af, arve af. Use fra mainly for movement or origin in space/time: komme fra skolen, rejse fra Odense. Saying låne fra naboen is nonstandard; stick to af.

Could I use hos instead of af?

Sometimes, yes, with a slightly different focus:

• låne af naboen highlights the neighbor as the source/giver.
• låne hos naboen highlights the neighbor’s place (at the neighbor’s). Both are acceptable here; af is the default.

Why is there no article before sukker?

Because sukker is a mass noun. Danish typically uses no article for mass/uncountable nouns:

• Zero article: låne sukker (normal).
• Optional: låne noget sukker (some sugar).
• Definite: låne sukkeret only if a specific, previously known sugar is meant.

Does låne mean borrow or lend?

Both. The construction tells you which:

• Borrow: låne noget af nogen (borrow something from someone). Example: Jeg lånte sukker af naboen.
• Lend: låne nogen noget or låne noget til nogen (lend someone something / lend something to someone). Example: Jeg lånte naboen sukker. Be careful: switching the pattern flips the meaning.

Why naboen and not min nabo or en nabo?

• naboen = the (specific) neighbor, often understood as the one next door and clear from context.
• min nabo = explicitly my neighbor.
• en nabo = a neighbor (unspecified, one of them). All are possible depending on what you want to convey.

Can I change the word order?

Yes, for emphasis, respecting the V2 rule (the finite verb måtte must be in second position):

• Neutral: Jeg måtte låne sukker af naboen.
• Emphasizing the source: Af naboen måtte jeg låne sukker.
• Emphasizing what was borrowed: Sukker måtte jeg låne af naboen. Avoid: Jeg måtte låne af naboen sukker (sounds wrong/unnatural).

Where does negation go, and what does it mean here?

Place ikke after the finite verb:

• Jeg måtte ikke låne sukker af naboen. = I was not allowed to borrow. If you mean there was no necessity (didn’t need to), use behøve:
• Jeg behøvede ikke at låne sukker af naboen.

How do I put this in other tenses, and do verbs change by person?

• Present (modal): Jeg må låne sukker af naboen. (may/have to; context decides)
• Simple past without the modal: Jeg lånte sukker af naboen. (just states the action happened)
• Present perfect (necessity): Jeg har måttet låne sukker af naboen.
• Present perfect (action only): Jeg har lånt sukker af naboen. Danish verbs do not conjugate for person or number, so forms like måtte, lånte, har lånt are the same for all subjects (I/you/he/we/they).