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.
Does gå konkurs literally mean go bankruptcy?
Yes, word-for-word it is close to go bankrupt / go into bankruptcy.
This is a fixed Norwegian expression:
- gå konkurs = go bankrupt
- selskapet gikk konkurs = the company went bankrupt
Even though gå usually means go or walk, in this expression it works idiomatically, just like English go bankrupt.
Why is it konkurs and not konkursen?
Because gå konkurs is an established expression, and konkurs is used without the definite article here.
This is similar to English:
- go bankrupt, not go the bankrupt
So:
- gå konkurs = go bankrupt
- være i konkurs = be in bankruptcy / be bankrupt in a more formal sense
Is gå konkurs the same as være konkurs?
Not exactly.
- gå konkurs focuses on the process/event: to go bankrupt
- være konkurs focuses on the state/result: to be bankrupt
Examples:
- Butikken kan gå konkurs. = The store may go bankrupt.
- Butikken er konkurs. = The store is bankrupt.
Why is the word order Butikken kan gå konkurs?
This is normal Norwegian main-clause word order:
subject + finite verb + infinitive + rest
Here:
- Butikken = subject
- kan = finite verb
- gå = infinitive
- konkurs = part of the expression
Norwegian usually puts the finite verb in the second position in main clauses.
Could I also say Kan butikken gå konkurs?
Yes. That makes it a question:
- Butikken kan gå konkurs. = The store may go bankrupt.
- Kan butikken gå konkurs? = Can / May the store go bankrupt?
The only change is that the finite verb kan moves before the subject.
Is butikk masculine only?
Can kan here refer to the future?
Yes. Even though kan is present tense, the sentence often refers to a future possibility.
- Butikken kan gå konkurs.
= The store may go bankrupt.
= It is possible that the store will go bankrupt.
Norwegian often uses present-tense forms to talk about future situations when the meaning is clear from context.
How would this look in the past tense?
You would usually change kan to kunne if you want a past possibility, or use gikk konkurs if it actually happened.
Examples:
- Butikken kunne gå konkurs. = The store could/might go bankrupt.
- Butikken gikk konkurs. = The store went bankrupt.
So kunne keeps the idea of possibility, while gikk konkurs states the event as a fact.
Is butikk better translated as shop or store?
Either can work. Butikk can mean both shop and store.
Which English word sounds better depends on the variety of English and the situation:
- British English often prefers shop
- American English often prefers store
So Butikken kan gå konkurs can naturally be understood as either:
- The shop may go bankrupt
- The store may go bankrupt
How is konkurs used in other sentences?
A few common patterns are:
- gå konkurs = go bankrupt
- være konkurs = be bankrupt
- et konkursbo = a bankruptcy estate
- konkursen = the bankruptcy
Examples:
- Firmaet gikk konkurs i fjor. = The company went bankrupt last year.
- De frykter at bedriften kan gå konkurs. = They fear that the business may go bankrupt.
- Etter konkursen mistet mange jobben. = After the bankruptcy, many lost their jobs.
So in your sentence, konkurs is part of a very common and useful expression.
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