Kan du ställa väskan på stolen?

you

Breakdown of Kan du ställa väskan på stolen?

• kunna: be able to
• på: on
• stolen: the chair

Questions & Answers about Kan du ställa väskan på stolen?

Why does the sentence start with Kan du?

Because this is a very common Swedish way to make a request.

• kan = can
• du = you

So Kan du ...? literally means Can you ...?, but in everyday Swedish it often functions like an English request:

• Can you put the bag on the chair?

It does not only ask about ability. Very often it simply means Would you do this?

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Why is the word order Kan du ställa ... instead of Du kan ställa ...?

In Swedish, yes/no questions are usually formed by putting the verb first.

Compare:

• Du kan ställa väskan på stolen. = You can put the bag on the chair.
• Kan du ställa väskan på stolen? = Can you put the bag on the chair?

So the switch from du kan to kan du is a basic question pattern in Swedish.

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Why is it ställa and not just one general verb like English put?