Modalverben

Swedish modal verbs behave much like English can, must and shall. They are followed by a bare infinitive, with no att ("to"): Jag kan tala svenska, just as English says "I can speak", not "I can to speak".

Infinitive	Present	Meaning	Example
kunna	kan	can, be able to	Kan du hjälpa mig?
vilja	vill	want	Jag vill lära mig mer.
-	måste	must, have to	Du måste ta med legitimation till Systembolaget.
skola	ska	be going to, plan to	Vi ska fika klockan tre.
få	får	may, be allowed to	Får jag sitta här?
behöva	behöver	need to	Du behöver inte komma.
böra	bör	should, ought to	Man bör boka bord.

Like other Swedish verbs, modals don't change for person: jag kan, du kan, de kan.

False friends and traps

• Vill is not "will". Jag vill ha kaffe means "I want coffee". For plans and the future Swedish uses ska (Jag ska resa till Gotland i sommar - I'm going to Gotland this summer) and, for predictions, kommer att (Det kommer att regna - It's going to rain).
• "Don't have to" is behöver inte. Du behöver inte komma - You don't have to come. To forbid something, say får inte: Du får inte röka här. - You mustn't smoke here.
• Får has two meanings. "May": Får jag fråga en sak? And "get": Jag får ett paket. When ordering, Kan jag få en kanelbulle? - Can I have a cinnamon bun?

Leaving out the main verb

With a direction, Swedish modals often go without a verb of motion: Jag måste hem nu. - I have to go home now. Vart ska du? - Where are you going?

In a main clause the modal takes second place and the infinitive follows soon after, with inte between: Jag kan inte komma på fredag. This is closer to English than to Dutch or German, where the infinitive goes to the end.