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Legen kan behandle pasienten i morgen.

Legen kan behandle pasienten i morgen.
The doctor can treat the patient tomorrow.

Breakdown of Legen kan behandle pasienten i morgen.

kunne
can
i morgen
tomorrow
legen
the doctor
pasienten
the patient
behandle
to treat
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Questions & Answers about Legen kan behandle pasienten i morgen.

Why do legen and pasienten end in -en?

Because they are in the definite singular (“the doctor,” “the patient”). Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix on the noun.

  • Indefinite singular: en lege, en pasient
  • Definite singular: legen, pasienten
  • Indefinite plural: leger, pasienter
  • Definite plural: legene, pasientene With an adjective, you use “double definiteness”: den erfarne legen, den nye pasienten.
Why is there no å before behandle?

Because kan is a modal verb. After modals (e.g., kan, skal, vil, må, bør, får), the main verb appears in the bare infinitive (no å).

  • Modal + bare infinitive: Legen kan behandle pasienten i morgen.
  • Non‑modal + infinitive uses å: Legen begynner å behandle pasienten i morgen.
What exactly does kan mean here—ability, permission, or possibility?

All are possible; context decides:

  • Ability/capacity: the doctor is able to treat the patient tomorrow.
  • Availability/possibility: it’s possible in the schedule.
  • Permission: sometimes, but for clear permission many prefer får or har lov til å (e.g., Legen får behandle …). Without extra context, learners usually read it as ability/possibility.
How do Norwegians express the future in a sentence like this?

Norwegian often uses present or a modal plus a time expression:

  • Scheduled/plan: Legen behandler pasienten i morgen.
  • Planned/obligatory: Legen skal behandle pasienten i morgen.
  • Willingness/intention or “will”: Legen vil behandle pasienten i morgen.
  • Prediction: Legen kommer til å behandle pasienten i morgen.
  • Ability/availability: Legen kan behandle pasienten i morgen.
Where can i morgen go in the sentence?

Neutral placement is at the end: Legen kan behandle pasienten i morgen. You can also front it for emphasis or flow: I morgen kan legen behandle pasienten. Mid‑position like Legen kan i morgen behandle pasienten is grammatical but less common/natural in everyday speech.

Can I start the sentence with i morgen?

Yes. Norwegian main clauses are V2 (finite verb in second position). So:

  • I morgen kan legen behandle pasienten. (fronted time, then the finite verb kan)
How do I make it negative?

Place ikke after the finite verb (here, the modal kan):

  • Legen kan ikke behandle pasienten i morgen.
How do I form a yes/no question from this?

Invert the subject and the finite verb:

  • Kan legen behandle pasienten i morgen? Answers: Ja, det kan han/hun. / Nei, det kan han/hun ikke.
How would I ask “When can the doctor treat the patient?”
  • Når kan legen behandle pasienten?
Can I drop kan and just use the present tense?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

  • Legen behandler pasienten i morgen = it’s scheduled/arranged to happen tomorrow.
  • Legen kan behandle pasienten i morgen = it’s possible/they’re able/available to do it tomorrow.
Does i morgen mean “tomorrow” or “in the morning”?

It means tomorrow (the day after today). For “tomorrow morning,” say i morgen tidlig. Related expressions:

  • i dag = today
  • i går = yesterday
  • i morges = this morning
  • om morgenen = in the mornings (habitual)
  • på morgenen = in the morning (on a given day)
Is i morgen written as one word? Is it capitalized?
  • It’s always two words in Bokmål: i morgen.
  • It’s not capitalized unless at the start of a sentence.
  • Nynorsk uses i morgon. (Colloquial spellings like “i morra” are non‑standard.)
Could I say Doktoren instead of Legen?
In everyday Norwegian for a medical doctor, the common noun is lege. doktor exists but is more of a title (e.g., when addressing someone) or refers to someone with a doctoral degree. Doktoren can sound old‑fashioned or title‑like; legen is the neutral noun.
What grammatical gender are lege and pasient?

Both are common gender (take en in the indefinite singular):

  • en lege → legen
  • en pasient → pasienten
How would the sentence look in the plural?
  • Definite plural: Legene kan behandle pasientene i morgen. (the doctors … the patients)
  • Indefinite plural: Leger kan behandle pasienter i morgen. (doctors … patients, non‑specific)
How do I add what the patient is being treated for?

Use behandle noen for noe:

  • Legen kan behandle pasienten for influensa i morgen. Other examples: for allergi, for en skade.
How do I put this in the past?
  • Simple past of the main verb: Legen behandlet pasienten i går. (treated yesterday)
  • Past of the modal: Legen kunne behandle pasienten i går. (was able/allowed to treat yesterday)