Question 1

What’s the difference between låna and låna ut?

Accepted Answer

- låna usually means to borrow: Jag lånar din ordbok = I borrow your dictionary.
- låna ut means to lend (to someone): Jag lånar ut min ordbok (till dig) = I lend my dictionary (to you).
Learners often mix these up. In your sentence, låna ut is correct because the subject is the lender.

Question 2

Could I say Får jag låna din ordbok i kväll? instead? Is that more natural?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Får jag låna din ordbok i kväll? (May I borrow your dictionary tonight?) is very natural and common when you, the speaker, want to borrow something. Kan du låna ut din ordbok i kväll? centers the other person’s ability/willingness to lend. Both are fine; the “får jag låna” version is often the go‑to request.

Question 3

Is Kan du låna mig din ordbok i kväll? correct?

Accepted Answer

It’s widely used and understood, meaning “Can you lend me your dictionary tonight?” Some style guides prefer låna ut … till mig (more explicit), but låna mig is common in everyday speech and generally accepted.

Question 4

Do I need to include “to me,” as in till mig?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily—context usually makes it clear. If you want to be explicit, say:
- Kan du låna ut din ordbok till mig i kväll?
Placement: … låna ut [object] till mig i kväll is the most natural. You can also move till mig earlier for emphasis, but end position is typical.

Question 5

Why is it din and not ditt or dina?

Accepted Answer

Because ordbok is a common-gender (en) noun:
- Singular common gender: en ordbok → din ordbok
- Singular neuter (ett) would take ditt
- Plural takes dina: dina ordböcker

Question 6

Can I replace din ordbok with a pronoun, like den?

Accepted Answer

Yes:
- Kan du låna ut den i kväll?
Use den for common-gender nouns (like ordbok), and det for neuter nouns (like lexikon).

Question 7

Why does the question start with Kan? Could I say Du kan låna ut … ?

Accepted Answer

Yes/no questions in standard Swedish use verb-first order (V1): Kan du … ?  
A declarative with rising intonation (Du kan låna ut … ?) is common in speech but is more informal. In writing, stick to inversion for questions.

Question 8

Where should i kväll/ikväll go in the sentence?

Accepted Answer

Most neutral: at the end — … din ordbok i kväll.  
Other options:
- Fronted for emphasis: I kväll kan du låna ut din ordbok.
- In the mid-field: Kan du i kväll låna ut din ordbok? (less common; can sound more formal/contrasty)
End position is the safest default.

Question 9

Which spelling is right: i kväll or ikväll?

Accepted Answer

Both are accepted in modern Swedish. i kväll is the traditional/edited standard; ikväll is very common in everyday writing. Choose one style and be consistent; in formal text, prefer i kväll.

Question 10

How can I make the request more polite?

Accepted Answer

- Skulle du kunna låna ut din ordbok i kväll?
- Skulle det vara möjligt att låna din ordbok i kväll?
- Har du möjlighet att låna ut din ordbok i kväll?
These soften the request in a way similar to English “Could you…” or “Would it be possible…”

Question 11

How do I negate it: “Can’t you lend your dictionary tonight?”

Accepted Answer

- Kan du inte låna ut din ordbok i kväll?
Note the position of inte (after the subject, before the infinitive phrase låna ut).

Question 12

Is låna ut a particle verb? Where does ut go?

Accepted Answer

Yes, låna ut is a verb + particle. Keep ut with the verb:
- With a noun object: låna ut ordboken
- With a pronoun: most natural is låna ut den (you may hear låna den ut, but it’s less common—stick to låna ut den as a learner)
- With auxiliaries/tenses: kan låna ut, ska låna ut, har lånat ut

Question 13

Can I use låna bort here?

Accepted Answer

You can, especially in speech: Kan du låna bort din ordbok i kväll?  
Nuance: låna ut is neutral. låna bort often implies handing something over (and maybe not having it for a while). In many contexts they overlap; låna ut is the safer default.

Question 14

Should I use du or ni? And what about din vs er?

Accepted Answer

- du/din: default singular you/your in modern Swedish.
- ni/er: plural you/your, or a formal singular in some service contexts.  
So to a group: Kan ni låna ut er ordbok i kväll?  
For everyday one‑to‑one requests, use du/din.

Question 15

Is ordbok the only word for “dictionary”? What about lexikon or ordlista?

Accepted Answer

- ordbok (en): general word for dictionary; very common.
- lexikon (ett): also means dictionary, often for bilingual or specialized dictionaries.
- ordlista (en): a word list/glossary (usually shorter, e.g., at the back of a book).
Your sentence is perfect with ordbok. With lexikon, you’d say ditt lexikon (neuter).

Question 16

Why not din ordboken? Do Swedish nouns take double definiteness with possessives?

Accepted Answer

With possessives, you do not use the definite ending on the noun. So:
- Correct: din ordbok
- Incorrect: din ordboken
Without a possessive, definite is fine: ordboken = the dictionary.

Question 17

Why is there no att before låna?

Accepted Answer

After modal verbs like kan, ska, vill, Swedish uses the bare infinitive (no att):
- Kan du låna ut …
- Compare: Jag försöker att låna ut … (with non-modals, att may appear).

Question 18

Does kan mean ability or willingness here? Is there a nuance?

Accepted Answer

kan literally expresses ability, but in requests it functions like English “can/could you,” combining ability and willingness. To sound softer/more polite, use Skulle du kunna … or reframe as Får jag låna ….

Question 19

Does the sentence imply “to me,” or could it mean lending to someone else?

Accepted Answer

By default, it’s understood as lending to the speaker. If you mean “to someone else,” specify the recipient:
- Kan du låna ut din ordbok till Anna i kväll?

Kan du låna ut din ordbok ikväll?

Breakdown of Kan du låna ut din ordbok ikväll?

Questions & Answers about Kan du låna ut din ordbok ikväll?

More from this lesson

Master Swedish — from Kan du låna ut din ordbok ikväll to fluency