Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hon kan inte bestämma sig.

Hon kan inte bestämma sig.

She cannot decide.

Breakdown of Hon kan inte bestämma sig.

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Questions & Answers about Hon kan inte bestämma sig.

What does sig mean in this sentence, and why isn’t it henne or hon?

Sig is the reflexive pronoun for “herself/himself/themselves” in Swedish.

You use sig when the object refers back to the same person as the subject:

Hon kan inte bestämma sig.
= She can’t decide (literally: can’t decide herself).

If you used henne, it would mean someone else (another “her”):

Hon kan inte bestämma henne.
= She cannot decide her (unnatural, and has a different meaning).

Hon is only a subject form (“she”), not used as an object here.
So:

Subject: hon (she)
Object, same person as subject: sig (herself)
Object, different person: henne (her)

Why do you need bestämma sig instead of just bestämma to mean “decide”?

In Swedish, “to decide (for oneself)” is normally expressed as bestämma sig (a reflexive verb).

bestämma sig = to make up one’s mind / to decide
- Jag kan inte bestämma mig. – I can’t decide.
- Har du bestämt dig? – Have you decided?

Bestämma without sig often means to determine / to set / to fix something external:

Vi måste bestämma priset. – We have to set the price.
Läraren bestämmer reglerna. – The teacher decides/sets the rules.

So if you mean “She can’t make up her mind”, you need bestämma sig.

Why is the word order kan inte bestämma sig and not kan bestämma sig inte?

In Swedish, the negation inte usually comes right after the finite verb (the verb that’s inflected for tense/person).

Here the finite verb is kan:

Hon kan inte bestämma sig.
- kan = finite verb (present)
- inte = negation
- bestämma = infinitive
- sig = reflexive pronoun

So the normal pattern is:

Subject + finite verb + inte + rest

Examples:

Hon kan inte komma. – She can’t come.
Vi vill inte gå. – We don’t want to go.

Kan bestämma sig inte is ungrammatical in standard Swedish.

Could you say “Hon kan inte bestämma” without sig? Would it still mean “She can’t decide”?

Without context, Hon kan inte bestämma sounds incomplete or vague.

It would usually be understood as:

She can’t decide/settle/establish something,
e.g. Hon kan inte bestämma priset. – She can’t set the price.

But if you want the natural everyday meaning “She can’t make up her mind”, native speakers almost always say:

Hon kan inte bestämma sig.

So for personal decision-making, you should include sig.

How would this sentence change with different subjects (I, you, he, we, they)?

The verb kan stays the same for all persons; only the subject and the reflexive pronoun change.

Jag kan inte bestämma mig. – I can’t decide.
Du kan inte bestämma dig. – You can’t decide.
Han kan inte bestämma sig. – He can’t decide.
Hon kan inte bestämma sig. – She can’t decide.
Vi kan inte bestämma oss. – We can’t decide.
Ni kan inte bestämma er. – You (plural/polite) can’t decide.
De kan inte bestämma sig. – They can’t decide.

Notice how the reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject: mig, dig, sig, oss, er, sig.

How do I say “She couldn’t decide” or “She won’t be able to decide” using this structure?

You keep bestämma sig, and change the auxiliary verb:

She couldn’t decide.
- Hon kunde inte bestämma sig.
  - kunde = past of kan
She won’t be able to decide.
- Hon kommer inte att kunna bestämma sig.
  - kommer att
    - infinitive = future
  - kunna = infinitive of kan

The reflexive part bestämma sig stays the same; you change kan according to tense.

What is the difference between Hon kan inte bestämma sig, Hon vill inte bestämma sig, and Hon har inte bestämt sig?

These three say different things:

Hon kan inte bestämma sig.
- She can’t decide.
- Suggests she is unable (it’s difficult, she’s torn, or there’s some obstacle).
Hon vill inte bestämma sig.
- She doesn’t want to decide.
- The problem is her will, not her ability.
Hon har inte bestämt sig.
- She hasn’t decided (yet).
- Neutral: just states that no decision has been made so far, without saying why.

All use bestämma/bestämt sig, but with different auxiliary verbs that change the meaning.

Can I use other verbs like besluta or avgöra instead of bestämma sig?

Yes, but they have different usage and tone:

besluta (sig)
- besluta sig ≈ “to decide” (more formal/literary than bestämma sig).
  - Hon kan inte besluta sig. – She can’t decide.
- besluta (without sig) is usually used for official decisions:
  - Regeringen beslutade att höja skatten. – The government decided to raise the tax.
avgöra
- Means “to determine / to settle / to decide the outcome”:
  - Domaren får avgöra. – The referee will decide.
  - Det avgjorde matchen. – That decided the match.

For everyday “I can’t make up my mind,” bestämma sig is the natural choice.

How does negation with inte work in other tenses with this verb, like perfect and future?

The basic rule still holds: inte goes after the finite verb.

Perfect (have decided):
- Hon har inte bestämt sig. – She has not decided.
  - har = finite verb → har inte
Future with ska:
- Hon ska inte bestämma sig. – She is not going to decide.
  - ska = finite verb → ska inte
Modal + perfect infinitive:
- Hon kan inte ha bestämt sig. – She can’t have decided.
  - kan = finite verb → kan inte

So pattern:

Subject + [finite verb] + inte + (other verbs/objects/etc.)

How do you say what she can’t decide about (e.g. “She can’t decide what to eat”)?

You keep bestämma sig and then add a clause or a prepositional phrase:

Hon kan inte bestämma sig för vad hon ska äta.
– She can’t decide what to eat.
Hon kan inte bestämma sig för vilken bok hon ska köpa.
– She can’t decide which book to buy.
Hon kan inte bestämma sig för om hon ska åka eller stanna.
– She can’t decide whether to go or stay.

Common pattern:

bestämma sig för [vad / vilken / om …]

How is Hon kan inte bestämma sig pronounced, and where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA):

Hon kan inte bestämma sig → /hʊn kan ˈɪntɛ bɛˈstɛmːa sɪj/

Key points:

Stress: mainly on kan, -stäm- in bestämma, and slightly on sig.
Hon: /hʊn/ – short o like in English “book”.
kan: /kan/ – short a like in “fun” but further back.
inte: /ˈɪntɛ/ – stress on in-.
bestämma: /bɛˈstɛmːa/ – double mm gives a long m sound.
sig: often /sɪj/ in standard Swedish (like “see” but shorter, with a y-glide).

In natural speech, the words typically flow together smoothly:
Hon kan inte bestämma sig.