Du må lagre e-posten før du går hjem.

You must save the email before you go home.

Breakdown of Du må lagre e-posten før du går hjem.

• du: you
• gå: to go
• før: before
• måtte: have to

Questions & Answers about Du må lagre e-posten før du går hjem.

What does må mean in this sentence?

Må is a modal verb meaning “must” or “have to.” It expresses necessity or obligation. Here it tells you that saving the email is compulsory before you leave.

Why is lagre used instead of verbs like “sende” or “arkivere”?

Lagre means “to save” (a file, document, draft).

• Sende means “to send,” which is a different action.
• Arkivere means “to archive,” i.e. file away for storage after you’re done with it.
  If your goal is simply to keep changes so they aren’t lost, you use lagre.

Why is it e-posten instead of en e-post or just e-post?

• En e-post = “an email” (indefinite).
• Adding -en to the noun makes it definite: e-posten = “the email.”
  Since the sentence refers to a specific email you’ve been working on, the definite form e-posten is required.

What gender and article does e-post take?

In Bokmål, e-post is a common‐gender noun. You normally say en e-post (indefinite) and e-posten (definite). Some dialects/feminine variants use ei e-post, but en e-post is standard in written Bokmål.