Kan ni lägga knivarna och skedarna på bordet först, eller är diskmaskinen fortfarande full?

Kan is the present tense of kunna (can / be able to), and ni means you when speaking to more than one person.

So Kan ni ... ? means Can you ... ? when addressing a group.

It can also sometimes be used as a polite singular you, but in modern Swedish it most often simply means plural you.

After a modal verb like kan (can), Swedish uses the infinitive form of the next verb.

• kan lägga = can put / can place
• not kan lägger

This is similar to English:

• can put
• not can puts

So:

• Kan ni lägga ... ? = Can you put ... ?

Lägga usually means to lay / to put down something, often in a horizontal position.

In this sentence, it fits well because knives and spoons are things you typically lay on a table.

Some related verbs are:

• lägga = lay / put down
• ställa = stand / put upright
• sätta = set / place

So Swedish often chooses different put-verbs depending on position, more than English does.

Because they are definite plural forms: the knives and the spoons.

Here is the pattern:

• en kniv = a knife
• knivar = knives

• knivarna = the knives

• en sked = a spoon
• skedar = spoons
• skedarna = the spoons

In Swedish, the definite article is often added as an ending instead of using a separate word like the.

So:

• knivarna och skedarna = the knives and the spoons

Bordet is the definite form: the table.

• ett bord = a table
• bordet = the table

Since the sentence refers to a specific table, Swedish uses the definite form.

So:

• på bordet = on the table

This is very common in Swedish: instead of a separate word for the, the noun often gets a definite ending.

Because Swedish usually builds the into the noun itself.

Examples:

• knivarna = the knives
• skedarna = the spoons
• bordet = the table
• diskmaskinen = the dishwasher

So unlike English, Swedish often does not need a separate article before the noun.

Först means first, and in Swedish adverbs like this can move around somewhat depending on emphasis and style.

Here, på bordet först means:

• on the table first

The idea is: first put them on the table, and then perhaps do something else later.

You could think of the structure as:

• Kan ni lägga [knivarna och skedarna] [på bordet] [först]?

That placement sounds natural in Swedish.

Fortfarande means still.

So:

• är diskmaskinen fortfarande full? = is the dishwasher still full?

In a Swedish yes/no question, the verb usually comes first:

• är = is
• diskmaskinen = the dishwasher
• fortfarande = still
• full = full

This word order is normal in Swedish questions.

Because diskmaskinen is an en-word and singular.

Predicate adjectives in Swedish agree with the noun:

• en-word singular: full
• ett-word singular: fullt
• plural: fulla

So:

• diskmaskinen är full = the dishwasher is full

But for an ett-word, you would get:

• huset är fullt = the house is full

Eller means or.

It connects the two alternatives:

1. Kan ni lägga knivarna och skedarna på bordet först
2. eller är diskmaskinen fortfarande full?

So the speaker is basically offering two possibilities:

• either you can put them on the table first,
• or maybe that is necessary because the dishwasher is still full.

This kind of sentence is very common in spoken Swedish.

Yes. Swedish very often combines nouns into one word.

• disk = dishes / washing-up
• maskin = machine
• diskmaskin = dishwasher
• diskmaskinen = the dishwasher

English often writes similar ideas as separate words, but Swedish commonly makes them into compounds.

Examples:

• sjukhus = hospital
• kaffekopp = coffee cup
• matbord = dining table

So diskmaskinen is completely normal Swedish word formation.

It can be, but that is less likely unless the context clearly calls for polite address.

Modern Swedish usually uses:

• du = you (singular)
• ni = you (plural)

In some situations, Ni can be used politely to one person, especially in service contexts or older-style speech, but it is not the default in everyday modern Swedish.

So most learners should first read Kan ni ... ? as Can you all ... ?

Och is simply the normal Swedish word for and.

So:

• knivarna och skedarna = the knives and the spoons

A learner may also notice that in everyday speech, och is often pronounced very weakly, sometimes almost like å. But in writing, it stays och.