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The Future & Modal Verbs
How to say 'will', 'going to', and use kan/vil/skal/må/bør.
If you remember nothing else
- •No dedicated future tense, use 'skal' (planned) or 'vil' (intend/will), or just present + time word.
- •After a modal (kan, vil, skal, må, bør), the next verb is the bare INFINITIVE without 'å'.
- •Jeg skal spise = I'm going to eat. Jeg kan svømme = I can swim.
Three ways to talk about the future
1) Present tense + a time word is the most common and natural ('Jeg reiser i morgen' = I'm travelling tomorrow). 2) 'skal' for intentions/plans. 3) 'vil' for will/want. There is no separate future ending to learn.
Jeg reiser i morgen.
I'm travelling tomorrow. (present + time)
Vi skal flytte til Oslo.
We're going to move to Oslo. (plan)
Det vil regne i kveld.
It will rain tonight.
The modal + infinitive pattern
This is the key rule. After a modal verb, the following verb is in its plain infinitive form, but WITHOUT the 'å'. So 'å spise' becomes just 'spise'.
Jeg kan svømme.
I can swim.
Du må sove.
You must sleep.
Vi vil lære norsk.
We want to learn Norwegian.
Du bør spise.
You should eat.
Quick meanings
kan = can/ability. vil = want/will. skal = shall/plan/promise. må = must/have to. bør = should. får = may/be allowed.
Kan du hjelpe meg?
Can you help me?
Jeg må gå nå.
I have to go now.
Quick check
3 questions. Get them right to lock in the lesson.