Questions & Answers about Jag vill minska risken.
What are the individual words in Jag vill minska risken and their basic functions?
- Jag = I (subject pronoun)
- vill = want (to) (modal-like verb)
- minska = to reduce (infinitive verb)
- risken = the risk (noun in definite form)
The word order is Subject – Verb – Verb – Object, which is normal in Swedish when you have a verb like vill followed by another verb.
Why is minska in the infinitive form, and why is there no att (to) before it?
In Swedish, when certain verbs are followed by another verb, you do not use att before the second verb.
Common verbs like vill (want), kan (can), ska (shall/going to), måste (must) are followed directly by an infinitive:
- Jag vill minska risken. – I want to reduce the risk.
- Jag kan simma. – I can swim.
- Jag ska äta. – I’m going to eat.
So minska stays in bare infinitive, without att.
What kind of verb is vill, and does it change with the subject?