Learn Hardcore Swedish: Du borde sluta nu, men jag slutar efter lunch. - You should stop now, but I stop after lunch.

borde = should (advice/recommendation; soft obligation). It often implies “it would be wise/right.”
ska = will/shall or be supposed to (plan, arrangement, instruction).
måste = must/have to (strong necessity, no real choice).
bör = ought to (formal/official recommendation; more bookish than borde).

Examples:

Du borde sluta nu = You should stop now (advice).
Du ska sluta nu = You are to stop now / You will stop now (plan/instruction).
Du måste sluta nu = You must stop now (strong necessity).
Du bör sluta nu = You ought to stop now (formal tone, e.g., in guidelines).

Why is sluta in the infinitive after borde? Should there be att?

Swedish modals (kan, vill, ska, måste, borde, får) take a bare infinitive without att. So it’s Du borde sluta, not Du borde att sluta. With many non-modal verbs, att may appear (often optional), e.g., Jag försöker (att) sluta. After modals, never use att.

Is the word order with nu flexible? Could I say Du borde nu sluta or Nu borde du sluta?

Neutral and most common: Du borde sluta nu.
Topicalizing “now” is fine: Nu borde du sluta (emphasis on “now”). This obeys the verb‑second rule: the finite verb borde comes second.
Du borde nu sluta is grammatical but feels stiff/marked in everyday speech. Swedish normally places time adverbs like nu either first (for emphasis) or after the verb phrase.

What’s the difference between sluta and avsluta?

sluta = stop/quit/finish (intransitive, or with an activity).
- Jag slutar efter lunch (I finish work/get off then).
- Sluta röka! (Stop smoking!)
- An event can also “end”: Mötet slutar klockan två.
avsluta = finish/complete/close (transitive, you finish something specific).
- Jag avslutar mötet efter lunch (I’ll finish/close the meeting).
With nouns: sluta med + noun = stop a habit: sluta med socker.
Don’t say sluta med att + verb when you mean “stop doing X.” Use sluta (att) + verb (e.g., sluta (att) röka). Note: Det slutade med att… means “it ended with/resulted in…”—a different structure.

How can present tense slutar refer to the future?

Swedish often uses present tense for planned/scheduled near‑future events. Jag slutar efter lunch commonly means “I’ll finish after lunch (today/usually).” If you want to highlight plan/intention, you can use:

Jag ska sluta efter lunch (plan/intention).
Jag kommer att sluta efter lunch (prediction/plan, slightly more formal).

Does efter lunch differ from efter lunchen or efter att ha ätit lunch?

efter lunch = after lunch (as a general time‑of‑day reference).
efter lunchen = after the (specific) lunch that’s contextually known (the one we’re having/just had).
efter att ha ätit lunch = after having eaten lunch (focus on the action of eating).
vid lunch ≈ around lunchtime. If you mean today specifically, add i dag: efter lunch i dag.

Can Jag slutar efter lunch mean “I get off work after lunch”?

Yes. sluta is routinely used for ending the workday or school: Jag slutar klockan fem, När slutar du? It can also be habitual (“I generally finish after lunch”) or about today—context or an extra time word like i dag clarifies.

How do I negate these clauses? Where does inte go?

With a modal + infinitive, inte follows the modal: Du borde inte sluta nu.
Simple present: Jag slutar inte efter lunch.
With ska/kommer att: Jag ska inte sluta efter lunch, Jag kommer inte att sluta efter lunch. In main clauses, inte comes after the finite verb (and before the infinitive if there is one).

Is the comma before men required?

It’s optional but common. Swedish uses fewer commas than English, yet many writers place a comma before men when it connects two main clauses. Both Du borde sluta nu men jag slutar efter lunch and Du borde sluta nu, men jag slutar efter lunch are acceptable.

Any pronunciation tips for the tricky sounds here?

jag: often [jaː] in casual speech (the final g is frequently dropped), careful speech [jɑːɡ].
sluta/slutar: u is the Swedish fronted [ˈslʉːtar].
borde: [ˈbʊrːdɛ] (short, rounded o like in English “put”).
nu: [nʉː] (long [ʉː]).
lunch: [lɵnɧ] (short [ɵ]; final ch is the Swedish “sj”-sound [ɧ]).
r is typically a tapped/alveolar [r] in many accents.

When should I use men versus utan?

men = but (general contrast): Jag vill sluta, men det är svårt.
utan = but rather; it replaces something after a negation: Inte nu, utan efter lunch. So use utan only after a negation with a corrective contrast.

Can sluta take a direct object like “stop the car”?

Normally no. Use:

stanna bilen (bring the car to a stop) or stoppa bilen (stop the car; transitive).
sluta is for ceasing an activity/state: Sluta prata, Sluta med socker. There are set phrases like sluta fred (make peace), but that’s idiomatic.

What are the principal forms of sluta?

Infinitive: sluta
Present: slutar
Preterite (past): slutade
Supine (used with har/hade): slutat
Imperative: sluta! Example: Jag har slutat (I have stopped).

How do I say “should have stopped”?

Use borde ha + supine:

Du borde ha slutat nu = You should have stopped by now. Contrast: Du skulle ha slutat nu often means “You were supposed to have stopped by now” (plan/expectation not met), less about moral advice than borde ha.

Is Du ever capitalized for politeness?

Modern Swedish uses lowercase du. Capital Du as a courtesy form is largely outdated, though you may still see it in very formal letters or old texts. In everyday writing, use du.