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Questions & Answers about Jeg må hente posten i dag.
What does må mean and how is it used?
må is the present tense of the modal verb å måtte, meaning “must” or “have to.” It expresses necessity or obligation. After må, you follow directly with the infinitive of another verb (without å), for example må hente, må spise, må gå.
Why is there no å before hente?
In Norwegian, after a modal verb like må, kan, skal, vil, etc., you drop å before the next verb. So instead of må å hente posten, you say må hente posten.
What does posten mean, and why is it in this form?
posten literally means “the mail” or “the post.” Norwegian often attaches the definite article as a suffix. The indefinite form is post (“mail” in general), and the definite singular form is posten (“the mail”). That’s why you don’t need a separate word for “the.”
Why is the time expression i dag placed at the end, and can it go elsewhere?
Time expressions like i dag (“today”) are flexible and can appear at the beginning or end. If you put i dag first, you must follow the V2 word‐order rule—verb comes second—so you get I dag må jeg hente posten. Placing it at the end, Jeg må hente posten i dag, is more neutral.
What’s the difference between må and skal in this sentence?
- må indicates an obligation or necessity: Jeg må hente posten i dag → “I have to/must pick up the mail today.”
- skal often expresses a plan or future intention without strong obligation: Jeg skal hente posten i dag → “I’m going to pick up the mail today.”
Can you omit jeg and say Må hente posten i dag?
In casual spoken Norwegian, you might drop the subject if context is clear: Må hente posten i dag. However, in standard written Norwegian you normally keep the subject (jeg) because of fixed word‐order (V2) rules.