Questions & Answers about Jag måste jobba nu.
Why is there no att (to) before jobba? I thought 'to work' was att jobba.
You are right that att jobba means 'to work'! However, when you use a modal verb like måste (must/have to), the following verb is always in its 'bare' infinitive form. This means you drop the att. So it is simply måste jobba, just like we say 'must work' in English, rather than 'must to work'.
The translation says 'have to'. Can måste also mean 'must'?
Yes, måste is the Swedish word for both 'must' and 'have to'. English speakers often say 'have to' for daily obligations, while 'must' can sound a bit formal or strict. In Swedish, måste works perfectly for all of these everyday situations.
Does måste change if the subject changes, like if we said 'he has to work'?
No, it stays exactly the same. In Swedish, verbs never change based on the subject (I, you, he, she, we, they). So 'he has to work' would simply be Han måste jobba.
What happens to the word order if I put nu (now) at the beginning of the sentence?
If you start the sentence with Nu to emphasize when you have to work, the Swedish 'V2 rule' kicks in. The verb must remain in the second position, so the subject (jag) and the first verb (måste) swap places. It becomes: Nu måste jag jobba.
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