Legen kan behandle pasienten i morgen.

can

Breakdown of Legen kan behandle pasienten i morgen.

• i morgen: tomorrow
• legen: the doctor
• pasienten: the patient

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.