Jag kan inte lyfta bordet själv.

Because Swedish usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun.

• bord = table
• bordet = the table

So in this sentence, bordet means the table, not just a table/table.

Swedish nouns belong to two main genders:

• en words
• ett words

Bord is an ett word: ett bord.
That is why the definite singular form is bordet.

Compare:

• en stol → stolen
• ett bord → bordet

Unfortunately, you usually have to learn whether a noun is an en word or an ett word.

In a normal Swedish main clause, the negation inte usually comes after the finite verb.

Here, the finite verb is kan, so:

• Jag kan inte lyfta bordet själv.

Not:

• Jag inte kan lyfta bordet själv.

This is part of normal Swedish word order.
A useful pattern is:

subject + finite verb + inte + infinitive

So this sentence follows a very common pattern.

Because modal verbs in Swedish are followed by the infinitive without att.

Kan is a modal verb, so you say:

• kan lyfta
• kan läsa
• kan komma

not:

• kan att lyfta
• kan att läsa

The same is true with other modal verbs such as:

• vill
• måste
• ska
• får

Here själv means by myself, on my own, or without help.

So the sentence means that the speaker cannot do the lifting alone.

In this kind of sentence, själv often adds the idea of without anyone helping me.

They can both sometimes relate to the idea of alone, but they are not the same.

• själv often means by oneself / on one’s own / without help
• ensam often means alone / with no other people there

So in this sentence, själv is better because the point is not just that no one else is present, but that the speaker cannot lift the table without help.

Compare:

• Jag är ensam hemma. = I am home alone.
• Jag kan inte lyfta bordet själv. = I can’t lift the table by myself.

Because Swedish uses själv in different ways.

In this sentence, själv is not a direct object. It means by myself/on my own, so själv by itself is natural.

You use mig själv when myself is the object of the verb, for example:

• Jag såg mig själv i spegeln. = I saw myself in the mirror.

But here, the speaker is not lifting themself. The speaker is lifting bordet, so mig själv would not fit.

Yes, but the emphasis can change.

The original:

• Jag kan inte lyfta bordet själv.

This most naturally means I can’t lift the table by myself.

You may also hear:

• Jag kan inte själv lyfta bordet.

That can sound more like I myself can’t lift the table, with stronger emphasis on I personally.

So the original placement is very natural if the main idea is without help.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Kan can express:

• ability
• possibility
• knowing how to do something

In this sentence, because the action is lifting a table, the natural reading is being able to physically do it.

If you specifically want to emphasize lack of strength or energy, Swedish often uses orkar inte instead:

• Jag orkar inte lyfta bordet själv.

That means something like I don’t have the strength/energy to lift the table by myself.

Yes, lyfta is the natural verb if you mean lift.

Some related verbs are:

• lyfta = lift, raise, pick up
• bära = carry
• flytta = move something from one place to another

So:

• lyfta bordet = lift the table
• bära bordet = carry the table
• flytta bordet = move the table

If the meaning is specifically about getting the table up with your hands, lyfta is the right choice.

A rough guide:

• jag is often pronounced something like yah in everyday speech
• själv is roughly like shelv, but the first sound is a special Swedish sj sound

A few notes:

• In careful speech, jag may sound a bit fuller, but learners often hear something close to ya
• The beginning of själv does not have an exact English equivalent
• If you use a simple sh sound at first, people will usually still understand you

So a beginner-friendly approximation would be:

• Jag ≈ yah
• själv ≈ shelv