The Modal Verbs

What are Modal Verbs?

A modal verb (can, may, must, shall, will) is an auxiliary verb that modifies the main verb and expresses plans, intentions, necessity, possibility, prediction, or permission. In Danish, modal verbs combine with verbs by omitting the infinitive marker 'at'. *Min telefon kan sende og modtage e-mail.* (My phone can send and receive email)

Key Differences from English

• Same word (*må*) can mean both "must" and "may"

• Future tense often uses present tense, not *vil* (will)

• Modal verbs can combine: *Du skal kunne tale dansk*

• Modal verbs can form perfect tenses

• Transport verbs are often omitted after modal verbs

Special Usage Notes

Transport verbs are typically omitted unless specifying the method:

• Simple: *Jeg skal til Århus* (I'm going to Århus)

• Specific: *Jeg skal flyve til Århus* (I'm going to Århus by plane)

Declension of the Modal Verbs

Infinitive	Present	Past	Present Perfect	Meaning
at ville	vil	ville	har villet	will/want to
at skulle	skal	skulle	har skullet	shall/must/have to
at måtte	må	måtte	har måttet	may/must
at kunne	kan	kunne	har kunnet	can/be able to
at burde	bør	burde	har burdet	should/ought to

Defining Modal Verbs

About 'Ville'

Ville expresses: 1) A want 2) An intention (or a demand) 3) An opinion or prediction Ville is subjective – the intention or opinion has not been planned or agreed upon – it is more feeling than fact. When used about a future situation, 'vil' describes where the inner laws will take things.

• Jeg vil gerne have en øl. (I want a beer)

• Jeg vil løbe et maraton inden jeg bliver 40! (I intend to run a marathon before I turn 40)

• Kierkegaard vil være for svær for dig nu - prøv noget Disney! (Kierkegaard will be too difficult for you by now – try some Disney!)

• Ville is not used for describing future actions unless you want to underline intention or opinion/prediction (with some uncertainty):

Eg. 'Jeg tror, at han vil være her klokken 3. (I guess he will be here by 3 o'clock)'

About 'Skulle'

Skulle expresses: 1) A plan, system, suggestion, instruction or agreement 2) A promise/assurance (usually with 'nok') 3) The pattern behind a behavior 4) A common opinion 5) A feared scenario Skulle is objective – it presents the content as a fact.

• Jeg skal i mudderbad i dag – det skulle du også prøve engang! (I will be having a mud bath today – you should try it!)

• Du skal nok blive god til dansk. (You will be good in Danish, I can assure you)

• Hvorfor skal du altid bøvse, mens vi spiser? (Why do you always have to belch during the meals)

• Jeg har hørt, at H.C. Andersen skulle være god. (I have heard that H.C. Andersen should be good)

• Jeg er bange for, at han en dag skal falde ud af vinduet. (I fear that he shall one day fall out of the window)

Skulle is used for describing transport, or more precisely: The verb describing the transport is left out when you express your plan of going somewhere – unless it is important how the transport is carried out. It is a bit like Tarzan-speak: Me – New York = I am going to New York.

• Jeg skal til Århus. (I am going to Århus)

• Jeg skal sejle til England denne gang. (I will take the boat to England this time)

About 'Kunne'

Kunne describes: 1) Ability 2) Possibility 3) Opportunity 4) Skill

• Døren kan låses. (The door can be locked)

• Han kan komme når som helst. (He may come any minute)

• Du kan ringe, når vi kommer hjem. (You can call him, when we get home)

• Jeg kan svømme. (I can swim)

It is considered quite rude to ask for permission by using kunne, unless the question is a mere formality:

Kan jeg låne din blyant et øjeblik? (May I use your pencil for a moment?)

About 'Måtte'

Måtte expresses: 1) A necessity in the sense: there is no other way out 2) The only intelligible solution 3) A permission/prohibition. Måtte is subjective and usually has an element of feeling/resistance:

Jeg ville ikke i skole, men min far, sagde jeg skulle, og så måtte jeg gøre det. (This phrase cannot be translated into English without loss of meaning. It would be: I did not want to go to school, but my father said I had to and then I had to.)

• Min cykel var punkteret, så jeg måtte gå. (My bike had a puncture, so I had to walk.)

• Du må være Clintons bror, I har præcis den samme næse. (You got to be a brother of Clinton, you have got exactly the same nose.)

• Du må ikke købe alkohol, før du bliver 16. (You are not allowed to buy alcohol until you turn 16.)

Måtte in the meaning of have to/got to is asymmetrical: It cannot be used in negative phrases or questions:

• Du må ikke hjælpe mig! can only be a prohibition. (You are not allowed to help me)

If you want to say: You do not need to help me! a different (modal) verb is used: at behøve:

• Du behøver ikke at hjælpe mig!

About 'Burde'

Burde is the appeal to a moral or rational authority within you, expressed by should or ought to in English. Although burde exists in past tense it always has a present meaning.

1) Past tense expresses criticism of the present state

2) Present tense in general terms describes how things should be in an ideal world

• Du burde besøge din far lidt oftere. (You should visit your father a bit more often)

• Man bør ikke få børn, hvis man ikke har tid til dem. (One should not have children unless you have the time for them)