måste

Must/have to

Level 2

Use måste to say that something is necessary or that you have to do something.

How It Works

måste is one of the most common modal verbs in Swedish. It's used to express a strong necessity or obligation.

Structure
Like other modal verbs, måste is followed by the main verb in its infinitive (base) form, but without the infinitive marker att.

  • Formula: Subject + måste + Main Verb (infinitive)
  • Example: Jag måste läsa boken. (I must read the book.)

Main Uses
1. Obligation/Necessity: This is the most common use, equivalent to 'have to' or 'must'.

  • Vi måste skynda oss. (We have to hurry.)

2. Logical Conclusion/Strong Assumption: Used when you are almost certain something is true.

  • Det ringer på dörren. Det måste vara pappa. (The doorbell is ringing. It must be dad.)

Tense
The same form måste can refer to present or past necessity, and a time phrase can place the action in the future. Var tvungen att is a useful alternative for making past obligation explicit, not the only grammatical option.

  • Present: Jag måste jobba idag. (I have to work today.)
  • Past: Jag var tvungen att jobba igår. (I had to work yesterday.)

Negation: måste inte
This is a very important point. In the ordinary obligation use, måste inte denies necessity: 'don't have to' or 'it is not necessary'. Use får inte for an unambiguous prohibition ('must not').

  • Du måste inte diska. (You don't have to do the dishes.)

To express prohibition ('must not'), you use the modal verb får in its negative form: får inte.

  • Du får inte röka här. (You must not smoke here.)

Past Time And An Understood Action
Jag måste jobba igår is grammatical past reference, as is Jag var tvungen att jobba igår. The supine is måst, as in har måst. Do not invent måstade.

In Jag måste hem or Den gamla soffan måste ut, a destination is stated without an overt motion verb. The modal therefore does not always have another written verb immediately after it. Questions such as Måste jag? can also leave an understood action unspoken.

Denying Necessity
Måste inte is particularly natural when måste is stressed to reject an assumed requirement: Du måste inte, men du får. Behöver inte is often the neutral everyday choice for lack of obligation. Neither expression should be automatically translated as English must not.

Examples (5)

  1. Jag måste gå nu.

    I have to go now.

    Word by Word: I must go now.

  2. Du måste köpa en biljett för att åka tåg.

    You must buy a ticket to ride the train.

    Word by Word: You must buy a ticket for to ride train.

  3. Han är inte här. Han måste vara sjuk.

    He isn't here. He must be sick.

    Word by Word: He is not here. He must be sick.

    Here, måste is used to express a logical conclusion or a strong assumption.

  4. Du måste inte komma om du inte vill.

    You don't have to come if you don't want to.

    Word by Word: You need not come if you do not want to.

    Here måste inte denies an obligation: you do not have to come. Behöver inte is another clear way to express this. The sentence does not forbid coming.

  5. Måste vi verkligen städa hela huset?

    Do we really have to clean the whole house?

    Word by Word: Must we really clean whole the-house?

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'måste inte' to mean 'must not' (prohibition).

    Du måste inte röka här. (Intended: Smoking here is prohibited.)
    Du får inte röka här.

    The ordinary prohibition is Du får inte röka här. Du måste inte röka här is grammatical with the different meaning “You do not have to smoke here”. The correction concerns the intended prohibition, not grammar in every context.

  • Incorrectly adding 'att' after 'måste'.

    Jag måste att städa mitt rum.
    Jag måste städa mitt rum.

    When måste governs this action verb, use bare infinitive städa without att. They need not be adjacent: Jag måste nog städa includes an intervening sentence adverb.

  • Inventing a past-tense form of 'måste'.

    Jag måstade jobba igår.
    Jag måste jobba igår.

    måste has no separate past form, so 'Jag måste jobba igår' is grammatically acceptable and understood as past — there is no form like 'måstade'. The phrase var tvungen att (or blev tvungen att) is often clearer for past obligation, so it is a common choice.

How It Connects

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måsteLevel 2Must/have to

Learn This First

To use 'måste' correctly, you need to understand basic Swedish verb usage and sentence structure. Specifically, you must know that 'måste' is a modal verb that is followed directly by the infinitive form of another verb without using the infinitive marker 'att'.

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måste