Vi må beskytte menneskeheten.

we

Breakdown of Vi må beskytte menneskeheten.

• må: must
• beskytte: to protect
• menneskeheten: humanity

Questions & Answers about Vi må beskytte menneskeheten.

What does each word in Vi må beskytte menneskeheten mean?

• Vi = we
• må = must / have to
• beskytte = protect
• menneskeheten = humanity / the human race / humankind

So the full sentence means We must protect humanity.

What exactly does må mean here?

Må is a modal verb that expresses necessity, duty, or strong obligation.

In English, it can often be translated as:

• must
• have to
• sometimes need to, depending on context

In this sentence, må is strongest as must: We must protect humanity.

Its infinitive form is måtte.

Why is it beskytte and not å beskytte?

After modal verbs in Norwegian, the next verb normally appears in the bare infinitive, without å.

That means:

• Vi må beskytte = We must protect
• not Vi må å beskytte

This works the same way as in English:

• must protect
• not must to protect

Common Norwegian modal verbs that behave this way include:

• kan = can
• skal = shall / will / am going to
• vil = will / want to
• må = must
• bør = should