Breakdown of Polisen kan ha följt fotspåret längs vägen.
ha
to have
kunna
to be able to, can
vägen
the road
polisen
the police officer
följa
to follow
längs
along
fotspåret
the footprint
Questions & Answers about Polisen kan ha följt fotspåret längs vägen.
Why does kan mean "may" instead of "can" in this sentence?
When you combine kan with ha and a supine verb (like följt), it expresses a possibility about a past event. We use it to deduce what might have or may have happened, rather than talking about someone's literal physical ability to do something.
Could I use kunde ha följt instead of kan ha följt?
You could, but it changes the meaning! Kan ha följt means "may have followed" (we do not know if they did or not). Kunde ha följt means "could have followed"—which usually implies they had the opportunity to do it, but we know they actually did not. For deducing what actually happened, stick to kan ha.
Why is Polisen singular when English treats "the police" as a plural?
In Swedish, polisen is a singular noun referring to the police force as a single institution. English says "the police are", but Swedish effectively says "the police force is". If you want to talk about multiple individual officers, you would use the plural poliserna.
Is there a rule for using the definite form vägen after längs?
Yes! The preposition längs (along) is almost always followed by a noun in its definite form, because you are referring to a specific physical line or path. You will frequently see phrases like längs vägen (along the road), längs kusten (along the coast), or längs floden (along the river).
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