Kan du ge mig linjalen?

Because this is a yes/no question in Swedish.

The basic statement would be:

Du kan ge mig linjalen.
= You can give me the ruler.

To turn it into a question, Swedish usually puts the verb first:

Kan du ge mig linjalen?
= Can you give me the ruler?

So the order is:

• kan = verb
• du = subject
• then the rest of the sentence

This verb-first pattern is very common in Swedish questions.

It can do both.

Literally, Kan du ge mig linjalen? looks like Can you give me the ruler?, asking about ability. But in normal conversation it is very often used as a polite request, just like in English.

So depending on context, it can mean:

• Are you able to give me the ruler?
• or more naturally, Can you pass me the ruler?

In everyday Swedish, Kan du ...? is a very normal and polite way to ask someone to do something.

Because mig is the object form of jag.

Compare:

• jag = I
• mig = me

In this sentence, the speaker is receiving the ruler, so mig is the object:

• ge mig linjalen = give me the ruler

You use jag for the subject of a clause, but mig after a verb when the person is being affected by the action.

Because Swedish often gives the indirect object directly after the verb, without a preposition.

So:

• ge mig linjalen = literally give me the ruler

This works like English give me the ruler, where English also often skips to.

Swedish can sometimes use till in similar situations, but here ge mig linjalen is the most natural and standard phrasing.

Because linjalen is the definite form, meaning the ruler.

In Swedish, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun:

• en linjal = a ruler
• linjalen = the ruler

So instead of using a separate word like the, Swedish often adds an ending.

Here, linjal is a common-gender noun, so in the singular definite form it becomes linjalen.

The dictionary form is linjal.

You would normally learn it as:

• en linjal = a ruler

Then the forms are:

• en linjal = a ruler
• linjalen = the ruler

So the -en at the end shows definiteness.

Ge is the infinitive form of the verb to give.

In this sentence, it comes after the modal verb kan:

• kan = can
• ge = give

This is similar to English:

• can give

So Kan du ge mig linjalen? is built like:

• Kan = can
• du = you
• ge = give
• mig = me
• linjalen = the ruler

The structure is:

Kan + du + ge + mig + linjalen

That is:

1. finite verb
2. subject
3. infinitive verb
4. indirect object
5. direct object

So:

• kan = finite verb
• du = subject
• ge = infinitive
• mig = indirect object
• linjalen = direct object

This order is very normal in Swedish.

Yes, that is grammatically possible, but it is less natural in this situation.

Kan du ge mig linjalen? is the normal, everyday way to say it.

Using till mig can sound more marked or emphatic, as if you are stressing to me specifically.

So for a learner, the best default version is:

Kan du ge mig linjalen?

In modern Swedish, du is normally used with almost everyone, even in many situations where English might use more formal wording.

So:

• Kan du ge mig linjalen? is completely normal

Using ni is much less common than learners sometimes expect. It can be used in some formal or service situations, but it is not the default equivalent of polite you in the way French or German has formal pronouns.

For most everyday situations, du is correct.

Ge is pronounced roughly like yeh in standard Swedish.

The g here sounds like a y sound, not a hard English g.

So:

• ge ≈ yeh

And the whole sentence is roughly:

Kan du ge mig linjalen?
≈ Kahn du yeh may lin-YAH-len?

That is only an approximation, but it can help as a starting point.