Questions & Answers about Vi må respektere naboene.
What does må express here, and how strong is it compared to bør or skal?
- må = must/have to (necessity/obligation). Strong.
- bør = should/ought to (advice/recommendation). Weaker.
- skal = is supposed to/shall (plan, arrangement, rule, or promise), not pure necessity.
- You’ll also see trenger å/behøver å = need to (practical need, often weaker than må).
So in this sentence, må conveys a clear obligation: “We must …”.
Why is there no å before respektere?
After modal verbs in Norwegian—kan, vil, må, skal, bør—the next verb is in the bare infinitive without å:
- Vi må respektere …
- Compare: Vi prøver å respektere … (no modal, so you use å).
Why is it respektere and not respekterer?
Because a modal verb (må) is followed by the infinitive (respektere). If you simply state a fact in the present without a modal, you use the present tense:
- With modal (obligation): Vi må respektere naboene.
- Simple present (habit): Vi respekterer naboene.