Danish Modal Verbs: kan, skal, vil, må

These four verbs express ability, obligation, desire and permission, and they're followed by an infinitive.

Their present tense has no -r ending, and it is the same for every person: jeg, du, hun and vi all kan.

SubjectJegModalkanInfinitivetaleRestdansk.
I can speak Danish.

kan can / is able to · skal shall / must / going to · vil will / want to · må may / must. Modal, then the infinitive: no at, no -r.

kan

can / is able to

Danish	English	Use
Jeg kan svømme.	I can swim.	ability
Kan du hjælpe mig?	Can you help me?	request
Det kan godt være.	That may well be.	possibility
Kan du tale mere langsomt?	Can you speak more slowly?	request

Expresses ability or possibility. Also used for polite requests.

skal

shall / must / going to

Danish	English	Use
Jeg skal arbejde i morgen.	I have to work tomorrow.	obligation
Vi skal til fest.	We're going to a party.	plan
Vi skal være der kvart i fem.	We have to be there at a quarter to five.	obligation
Skal vi lave mad sammen i aften?	Shall we cook together tonight?	suggestion

Expresses obligation, or a plan that is already arranged. Vil, by contrast, says what someone wants.

vil

will / want to

Danish	English	Use
Jeg vil gerne have en kaffe.	I would like a coffee.	polite wish
Han vil rejse til Japan.	He wants to travel to Japan.	intention
Vil du have en kop te?	Would you like a cup of tea?	offer
Jeg vil hellere have kaffe end te.	I would rather have coffee than tea.	preference

Expresses desire or intention. Vil gerne is the polite way to say “would like”.

må

may / must

Danish	English	Use
Må jeg sidde her?	May I sit here?	asking permission
Du må ikke ryge her.	You must not smoke here.	forbidden
Du må gerne komme ind.	You're welcome to come in.	giving permission
Jeg må arbejde i morgen.	I have to work tomorrow.	necessity

Expresses permission or prohibition, and also necessity: Jeg må arbejde i morgen means circumstances force you, while Jeg skal arbejde i morgen says it's planned or required. Må ikke means “must not” (forbidden), not just “may not”.

må ikke or behøver ikke?

Må ikke forbids something. To say that something isn’t necessary, use behøver ikke instead.

forbiddenDu må ikke ryge her.You must not smoke here.
not necessaryDu behøver ikke at komme.You don’t have to come.

Modal + infinitive, and word order

There is no at between the modal and the infinitive: Jeg vil lære dansk, not Jeg vil at lære dansk.

Danish	English	Word order
Jeg vil ikke vente længere.	I don't want to wait any longer.	ikke comes after the modal
Skal vi gå nu?	Shall we go now?	question: the modal comes first
I morgen skal jeg arbejde.	Tomorrow I have to work.	time word first, then the modal, then the subject

The V2 rule

Skal and vil without a second verb

When the sentence says where someone is going, Danes often leave out the verb of movement after skal and vil. That is why Vi skal til fest needs no gå.

Danish	English
Jeg skal hjem nu.	I'm going home now.
Hvor skal du hen?	Where are you going?
Vil du med?	Do you want to come along?
Jeg vil gerne derhen.	I'd like to go there.

Past forms: kunne, skulle, ville, måtte

In the past tense, each modal looks like its infinitive. Kunne also makes a request softer, just like English could.

Present	Past	English
kan	kunne	could, was able to
skal	skulle	had to, was going to, should
vil	ville	wanted to, would
må	måtte	had to, was allowed to

Danish	English
Han kunne ikke komme.	He couldn't come.
Kunne du hjælpe mig?	Could you help me?
Han ville ikke spise.	He didn't want to eat.
Jeg måtte gå tidligt.	I had to leave early.
Han måtte ikke komme ind.	He wasn't allowed in.

All four forms of each modal, with the irregular verbs

Modal verbs or future tense?

Danish has no separate future form. For a plan that is already arranged, use skal. Vil mostly says what someone wants. Most often, Danes use the present tense with a time word.

Danish	English	What it says
Vi skal besøge mine bedsteforældre.	We're going to visit my grandparents.	skal: an arranged plan
Jeg vil gerne blive læge.	I'd like to become a doctor.	vil: a wish
Jeg kommer i morgen.	I'll come tomorrow.	present tense + a time word

Talking about the future

Common mistakes

Wrong:~~Jeg kan svømmer.~~
Right:Jeg kan svømme.
After a modal verb the main verb stays in the infinitive.
Wrong:~~Jeg vil at lære dansk.~~
Right:Jeg vil lære dansk.
No at between a modal verb and the infinitive.
Wrong:~~Jeg vil have en kaffe.~~
Right:Jeg vil gerne have en kaffe.
Not wrong, but it sounds blunt, like “I want a coffee”. When ordering, add gerne: vil gerne is “would like”.

Try it

Try itTest yourself on kan, skal, vil and må

Check yourself

6 questions

1. “I'm working tomorrow.” (it's on the schedule)

2. “Can you speak Danish?”

3. “May I sit here?”

4. “You must not smoke here.”

5. “I would like a coffee.” (ordering)

6. “Tomorrow I have to work.”

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