Alle må være til stede.

Alle means everyone or all people.

In this sentence, it refers to people in general, not things. Norwegian uses alle where English might use either everyone or all depending on the context.

Examples:

• Alle må komme. = Everyone has to come.
• Alle er klare. = Everyone is ready.

Because after a modal verb like må, Norwegian uses the bare infinitive, without å.

So:

• må være = must be
• kan komme = can come
• skal gå = will / shall go
• vil hjelpe = want to / will help

This is similar to English:

• must be, not must to be

Må is the present tense of måtte, and here it means must or have to.

It expresses necessity, obligation, or a requirement.

So Alle må være til stede means that being present is required.

Compare:

• Du må gå nå. = You must / have to go now.
• Vi må vente. = We have to wait.

Være is the infinitive form of to be.

After må, you need the infinitive, so:

• må være = must be

You would not use er here, because er is a finite verb form, and må is already the finite verb in the sentence.

Compare:

• Alle er til stede. = Everyone is present.
• Alle må være til stede. = Everyone must be present.

Til stede is a fixed expression meaning present or in attendance.

It is written as two words in standard Norwegian. You should learn it as a set phrase.

Examples:

• Hun er til stede. = She is present.
• Var læreren til stede? = Was the teacher present?

Even though English often uses a single word like present, Norwegian commonly uses this expression instead.

Not exactly.

• her means here
• til stede means present / in attendance

Sometimes they overlap in meaning, but til stede is more formal and specifically refers to being present at an event, meeting, class, etc.

Compare:

• Hun er her. = She is here.
• Hun er til stede. = She is present.

If you are talking about attendance, til stede is usually the better choice.

Because Norwegian verbs do not change according to the subject the way English verbs sometimes do.

In English:

• I am
• you are
• he is

In Norwegian, the verb form stays the same for all persons in the present tense:

• jeg er
• du er
• han er
• alle er

The same applies with modal verbs:

• jeg må
• du må
• alle må

So alle må is normal and expected.

The basic order is:

subject + verb + infinitive + expression

• Alle = subject
• må = finite verb
• være = infinitive
• til stede = complement

So: Alle må være til stede.

This is the normal word order in a main clause.

Yes. Norwegian follows the V2 rule in main clauses, which means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

For example:

• Alle må være til stede.
• I dag må alle være til stede.

In the second sentence, I dag comes first, so må still stays in second position, and the subject alle moves after it.

This is a very common pattern in Norwegian.

You would usually use måtte, the past tense of måtte:

• Alle måtte være til stede. = Everyone had to be present.

So:

• må = must / have to
• måtte = had to

It is completely natural Norwegian, but it sounds a bit formal or official because of til stede.

You might hear it in:

• school
• meetings
• rules
• announcements
• workplace instructions

In more casual speech, people might sometimes use other phrasing depending on context, but Alle må være til stede is very standard and correct.

You move the finite verb to the front:

Må alle være til stede? = Must everyone be present?

That is the normal way to form yes/no questions in Norwegian:

• Er hun her?
• Kan du hjelpe?
• Må alle være til stede?