Du kan aktivera simkortet nu.

you

Breakdown of Du kan aktivera simkortet nu.

• nu: now
• kunna: be able to
• simkortet: the SIM card

Questions & Answers about Du kan aktivera simkortet nu.

Why does the sentence start with Du?

Du means you and is the subject of the sentence.

In Swedish, a normal main clause usually follows this basic pattern:

subject + verb + rest of sentence

So:

• Du = you
• kan = can
• aktivera simkortet nu = activate the SIM card now

Also, modern Swedish normally uses du for ordinary direct address, even in situations where English might use a more formal tone. There is no everyday formal pronoun equivalent to old-fashioned thou/ye or formal you distinctions like in some other languages.

What does kan mean here?

Kan is the present tense of kunna, which usually means can, be able to, or sometimes know how to depending on context.

Here, Du kan aktivera simkortet nu means something like:

• You can activate the SIM card now
• You are now able to activate the SIM card

So kan is expressing possibility or ability.

Why is it kan aktivera and not kan att aktivera?