Breakdown of De kan ha lämnat fingeravtrycket på kassaskåpet.
de
they
ha
to have
kunna
to be able to, can
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
lämna
to leave
kassaskåpet
the safe
fingeravtrycket
the fingerprint
Questions & Answers about De kan ha lämnat fingeravtrycket på kassaskåpet.
English speakers usually say "may have left" or "might have left" rather than "can have left". Is kan ha lämnat the standard way to say this in Swedish?
Yes! While English prefers "may have" or "might have" for deductions about the past, Swedish naturally uses kan ha followed by the supine verb form (here, lämnat). It is the standard way to express that something is a past possibility.
Could I use kanske here instead of kan, such as De kanske har lämnat...?
Absolutely. De kanske har lämnat fingeravtrycket means the exact same thing and is extremely common in everyday speech. Using kan ha lämnat sounds just slightly more formal or analytical, making it a perfect fit for a detective examining a clue.
Both fingeravtrycket and kassaskåpet are compound words ending in -et. Which part of a compound determines its gender?
In Swedish compound words, the final root word always determines the gender. Since the base words are ett avtryck (an imprint) and ett skåp (a cabinet), both of these compounds are ett words. That is why they both take the definite suffix -et in this sentence.
What are the exact parts that make up the word kassaskåpet?
It translates literally to the cash cupboard. It combines en kassa (a cash register, checkout, or treasury) with ett skåp (a cupboard or cabinet), along with the definite suffix -et.
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