Breakdown of Måste vi till förfesten redan?
vi
we
måste
to have to, must
till
to (direction, destination)
redan
already
förfesten
the pre-party
Questions & Answers about Måste vi till förfesten redan?
Where is the verb for "go" in this sentence?
It is left out! In Swedish, when a modal verb like måste, ska, or vill is followed by a preposition showing direction (like till), the verb of motion (such as gå, åka, or cykla) is usually dropped. So Måste vi till förfesten? is the most natural way to ask "Do we have to go to the pre-party?".
Is it wrong to include a motion verb, like saying "Måste vi gå till förfesten"?
It is not grammatically wrong, and you can absolutely say Måste vi gå till förfesten? or Måste vi åka till förfesten?. However, dropping the motion verb is incredibly common in everyday Swedish and sounds very native, which is why it is used here.
What exactly is a "förfest"?
A förfest translates directly to a "pre-party." In Sweden, it is a massive cultural staple to gather at someone's home to drink and socialize before heading out to a club, bar, or larger event, largely because buying alcohol out on the town is quite expensive.
Could redan go earlier in the sentence, like "Måste vi redan till förfesten?"
Yes, you could put redan right after the subject: Måste vi redan till förfesten? Both placements are correct. However, placing redan at the very end adds a bit more emphasis to the feeling of "already?" or "so soon?", which perfectly fits the slightly complaining tone of this question.
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