Questions & Answers about Utgifterna får inte öka mer.
What does utgifterna mean, and why is it written as one word?
Utgifterna means the expenses or the expenditures.
It is one word because Swedish usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.
Breakdown:
- utgift = an expense
- utgifter = expenses
- utgifterna = the expenses
So the ending -na shows that the noun is both plural and definite.
Why isn’t it de utgifterna if it means the expenses?
Because Swedish normally marks definiteness directly on the noun.
So:
- utgifter = expenses
- utgifterna = the expenses
You can say de utgifterna, but then de is usually adding extra emphasis, like those expenses or those particular expenses, not just ordinary the expenses.
What does får mean here? I thought få meant get.
That is a very common question. Få can mean get, but it can also be a modal verb.
Here, får does not mean gets. It means something like:
- may
- is allowed to
- in natural English in this kind of sentence, often must
So Utgifterna får inte öka mer means:
- The expenses may not increase any more
- more naturally in many contexts: The expenses must not increase any more
So yes, får is from få, but here it is being used in its modal sense, not its get/receive sense.
Why does får inte often get translated as must not instead of may not?
Because literal English and natural English are not always the same.
Literally:
- får inte = may not / is not allowed to
But in many real situations, especially rules, budgets, and instructions, English speakers often say:
- must not
So the Swedish sentence has the sense of prohibition or not being allowed. In English, must not often sounds more natural than may not.
Why is inte placed after får?
Because in a Swedish main clause, the finite verb usually comes first or second, and sentence adverbs like inte normally come after that finite verb.
Here:
- Utgifterna = subject
- får = finite verb
- inte = not
- öka = infinitive
- mer = more / any more / further
So the normal order is:
- Utgifterna får inte öka mer.
This is a very important Swedish word-order pattern.
Why is öka in the infinitive, and why is there no att?
Because får is a modal verb, and modal verbs in Swedish are followed by the bare infinitive.
So:
- får öka = may increase / is allowed to increase
Not:
- får att öka ❌
This is similar to English:
- must increase
- can increase
not:
- must to increase ❌
What does öka mean exactly here?
Öka means increase.
In this sentence it is intransitive, meaning the subject itself increases:
- Utgifterna ökar = The expenses increase / are increasing
You are not increasing something else here. The expenses themselves are going up.
What does mer mean here?
Here mer means more, but in natural English this sentence is often translated as:
- any more
- further
So öka mer means:
- increase more
- increase any more
- increase further
In this sentence, mer gives the idea of additional increase beyond the current level.
Could I translate mer as longer, as in no longer increase?
No, that would be a different idea.
- mer = more / any more / further
- längre = longer / any longer
So:
- inte öka mer = not increase any more / not increase further
- inte öka längre would suggest not continue increasing any longer, which is related but not exactly the same and is less natural here.
In a budgeting sentence, mer is the expected word.
Is utgifterna singular or plural?
It is plural.
Forms:
- en utgift = an expense
- utgiften = the expense
- utgifter = expenses
- utgifterna = the expenses
So the sentence is talking about multiple expenses or overall expenditures.
Is får inte the same as kan inte?
No. They are different.
- får inte = may not / must not / is not allowed to
- kan inte = cannot / is not able to / is not possible
Compare:
- Utgifterna får inte öka mer. = The expenses must not increase any more.
- Utgifterna kan inte öka mer. = The expenses cannot increase any more.
The first is about permission, rules, or limits. The second is about possibility or ability.
How would the word order change in a subordinate clause?
In a subordinate clause, inte usually comes before the finite verb.
Main clause:
- Utgifterna får inte öka mer.
Subordinate clause:
- ... att utgifterna inte får öka mer.
- ... because the expenses must not increase any more
So this sentence is useful for seeing the difference between:
- main clause: verb before inte
- subordinate clause: inte before the finite verb
Could I say Utgifterna får inte öka ytterligare instead?
Yes. That is a good alternative.
- mer = more / any more
- ytterligare = further / additionally
So:
- Utgifterna får inte öka mer
- Utgifterna får inte öka ytterligare
Both are correct. Ytterligare is a bit more formal or administrative in tone, while mer is simpler and very common.
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