Breakdown of Efter midnatt måste alla hem.
hem
home
måste
to have to, must
alla
all
efter
after
midnatt
midnight
Questions & Answers about Efter midnatt måste alla hem.
Where is the verb for "go" in måste alla hem?
It is omitted! In Swedish, when you use a modal verb like måste (must), ska (will), or vill (want) along with a destination, you can drop the motion verb entirely. Because hem indicates direction, the movement is already obvious.
Could I say måste alla hemma instead?
No, because hemma implies a static location (being at home) rather than a destination (going home). The trick of dropping the motion verb only works with directional words like hem, in, or bort. If you used hemma, you would be forced to include a verb like vara (to be): måste alla vara hemma.
Why is the word order måste alla and not alla måste?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule. Because the sentence starts with the time phrase Efter midnatt, the verb måste must take the second position in the sentence. The subject alla is therefore pushed to the spot immediately after the verb.
Does alla mean "all" or "everyone" here?
It means "everyone". While alla translates literally to "all", it functions perfectly as a standalone pronoun for "everyone" or "everybody". You do not need to add a noun like människor (people) to make it mean "everyone".
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