Modal Verbs and the Bare Infinitive
Modal verbs express ability, desire, obligation, or permission. They are followed directly by the bare infinitive—the dictionary form of the verb without the infinitive marker att (to).
Two common modal verbs are kan (can, to be able to) and vill (want to).
| I can wash the car today. | Jag kan tvätta bilen idag. |
| The boy wants to play football. | Pojken vill spela fotboll. |
Obligation and Permission
Use måste (must, have to) for obligations. Unlike most present-tense verbs, måste does not end in -r.
| I have to work now. | Jag måste jobba nu. |
| You must stay here. | Du måste stanna här. |
Use får (may, to be allowed to) to express permission.
| You may go home now. | Du får gå hem nu. |
Questions and Negation
To form a question, swap the subject and the modal verb.
| Can you speak Swedish? | Kan du prata svenska? |
| Is the dog allowed to be here? | Får hunden vara här? |
To make a sentence negative, place inte (not) directly after the modal verb, before the infinitive.
| You may not sleep here. | Du får inte sova här. |
| The child cannot sleep. | Barnet kan inte sova. |
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