Breakdown of Maten ska inte ätas efter sista förbrukningsdagen.
maten
the food
äta
to eat
inte
not
efter
after
Questions & Answers about Maten ska inte ätas efter sista förbrukningsdagen.
Why is it maten and not just mat?
Mat means food in a general sense. Maten is the definite form, meaning the food.
In this sentence, Swedish is talking about the specific food item being referred to, such as the food in the package. That is why maten is natural here.
What does ska mean here? Is it just future tense?
Not only future. Ska can sometimes refer to the future, but here it mainly expresses an instruction or rule.
So ska inte ätas means something like:
- should not be eaten
- is not to be eaten
On packaging and in official instructions, ska often has this rule-like meaning.
Why is there no att before ätas?
Because ska is a modal verb, and after modal verbs in Swedish you normally use the infinitive without att.
Common examples:
- ska äta
- kan komma
- måste gå
- vill läsa
So ska inte ätas is correct, not ska inte att ätas.