Livlinen kan brukes.

Because Norwegian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.

• livline = a lifeline / a safety line
• livlinen = the lifeline / the safety line

So the -n ending is doing the job that the does in English.

Livlinen is the definite singular form of the noun livline.

So the pattern is:

• livline = indefinite singular
• livlinen = definite singular

A native English speaker often expects a separate article, but in Norwegian the noun itself changes form.

Kan is a modal verb. It usually means can, but depending on context it can also suggest may, is able to, or is possible to.

In a short sentence like this, especially in instructions or technical language, kan often means something like:

• can be used
• may be used
• is usable

So it expresses possibility, ability, or allowed use.

Because this sentence is using the passive.

Compare:

• Noen kan bruke livlinen. = Someone can use the lifeline.
  
  • This is active.
• Livlinen kan brukes. = The lifeline can be used.
  
  • This is passive.

The ending -s is a very common way to form the passive in Norwegian. So brukes means be used / used in a passive sense.

Not exactly in the usual sense.

After a modal verb like kan, Norwegian normally uses the infinitive without å. In this sentence, brukes is best understood as a passive infinitive:

• kan brukes = can be used

This can be confusing because brukes has the same form as the present passive in other sentences, for example:

• Livlinen brukes ofte. = The lifeline is often used.

So the form is the same, but after kan it functions as part of the modal construction.

The structure is:

• Livlinen = subject
• kan = finite verb / modal
• brukes = main verb in passive form

So the sentence follows the normal main-clause pattern:

Subject + finite verb + rest

This also fits the Norwegian V2 rule, which means the finite verb normally comes in second position in a main clause.

Because Norwegian main clauses usually follow the verb-second (V2) rule.

In Livlinen kan brukes, the subject Livlinen comes first, so the finite verb kan must come second.

You can see this more clearly if something else comes first:

• I nødstilfeller kan livlinen brukes. = In emergencies, the lifeline can be used.

Here I nødstilfeller is first, and kan still stays in second position.

Yes. That is also correct.

There are two common passive patterns here:

• kan brukes
• kan bli brukt

Both can mean can be used.

Very roughly:

• kan brukes is shorter and often sounds more natural in signs, manuals, and general statements
• kan bli brukt can sound a little more explicit or event-focused

In many everyday contexts, they are interchangeable.

You can add the agent with av in a passive sentence:

• Livlinen kan brukes av redningsmannskapet.
  = The lifeline can be used by the rescue crew.

Or you can switch to an active sentence:

• Redningsmannskapet kan bruke livlinen.
  = The rescue crew can use the lifeline.

The passive version focuses on the lifeline.
The active version focuses on the people using it.

To make it a question, move the finite verb to the front:

• Kan livlinen brukes? = Can the lifeline be used?

To make it negative, add ikke after the finite verb:

• Livlinen kan ikke brukes. = The lifeline cannot be used.

That placement of ikke is very typical in Norwegian main clauses.