Butikken kan gå konkurs.

The store can go bankrupt.

Breakdown of Butikken kan gå konkurs.

• gå: to go
• butikken: the store
• kan: can
• konkurs: bankrupt

Questions & Answers about Butikken kan gå konkurs.

Why is it butikken and not butikk?

Butikken is the definite singular form of butikk, which means shop/store.

• en butikk = a shop / a store
• butikken = the shop / the store

The ending -en works like English the for many masculine nouns.

What does kan mean here?

Kan is the present tense of kunne, and here it means can / may / might, depending on context.

In Butikken kan gå konkurs, it usually expresses possibility:

• The store can go bankrupt
• The store may go bankrupt
• The store might go bankrupt

So it is not necessarily about ability. It is more about what is possible.

Why is there no å before gå?

After a modal verb like kan, Norwegian normally uses the infinitive without å.

So:

• kan gå = can go
• skal gå = will / shall go
• må gå = must go

Compare:

• Jeg vil gå. = I want to go.
• Jeg liker å gå. = I like to walk / go.

With like, you need å. With kan, you do not.

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