Breakdown of Vi måste behandla ansökan nu.
vi
we
nu
now
måste
to have to, must
ansökan
the application
behandla
to process
Questions & Answers about Vi måste behandla ansökan nu.
Why does ansökan translate to "the application"? Where is the definite ending?
Nouns ending in -an, like en ansökan (an application), are a bit special. The form ansökan is very commonly used for both the indefinite ("an application") and the definite ("the application"). You might sometimes see ansökningen for the definite form, but ansökan is completely standard here.
How is the word for "the application" (ansökan) related to "the applicant", and how does that plural work?
They share the same root! "The applicant" is den sökande. Because it ends in -ande and refers to a person, it belongs to the Group 5 nouns you are studying in this lesson. Its plural doesn't change: one applicant is en sökande and several applicants are flera sökande.
Does the verb behandla only apply to paperwork and processing?
No, behandla fundamentally means "to treat" or "to handle". In addition to processing documents, you use it for medical treatments or how you treat people. For example, att behandla någon väl means "to treat someone well".
Why isn't there an att (to) before behandla?
Because måste (must/have to) is an auxiliary modal verb. In Swedish, just like with "must" in English, these verbs are followed directly by the bare infinitive of the next verb, so you never use att between them.
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