Questions & Answers about Jeg tror jeg kan ha glemt å trekke ut støpselet i går.
Why does the sentence have Jeg twice?
Because it has two clauses:
- Jeg tror = main clause (I think)
- jeg kan ha glemt å trekke ut støpselet i går = the content clause (what you think)
Norwegian repeats the subject in the second clause, just like English: I think I…
Is kan here about ability (can) or possibility (might)?
It’s about possibility/uncertainty, not ability.
kan ha glemt is best understood as might have forgotten / may have forgotten.
If you wanted ability, you’d normally be talking about something like Jeg kan trekke ut støpselet = I am able to unplug it (or I can unplug it).
What does kan ha glemt mean grammatically?
It’s a modal verb + perfect infinitive:
- kan = present tense modal (may/might/could)
- ha glemt = perfect infinitive (have forgotten)
Together: kan ha glemt = might have forgotten (in the past).
Why is it ha glemt and not har glemt?