Determinatives
Indefinite article
There are 3 indefinite articles in Norwegian, one of each gender: en, ei, et.
Masculine ('hankjønn')
en stol (a chair)
en bil (a car)
en mann (a man)
Feminine ('hunkjønn')
ei bok (a book)
ei dør (a door)
ei dame (a lady)
Neuter ('intetkjønn')
et vindu (a window)
et bord (a table)
et barn (a child)
Numbers
Basic numbers:
0 =
1 =
2 =
3 =
4 =
5 =
6 =
7 =
8 =
9 =
10 =
null
en
to
tre
fire
fem
seks
sju
åtte
ni
ti
11 =
12 =
13 =
14 =
15 =
16 =
17 =
18 =
19 =
20 =
elleve
tolv
tretten
fjorten
femten
seksten
sytten
atten
nitten
tjue
21 =
22 =
30 =
40 =
50 =
60 =
70 =
80 =
90 =
100 =
tjueen
tjueto
tretti
førti
femti
seksti
sytti
åtti
nitti
hundre
101 =
212 =
378 =
1000 =
1200 =
3409 =
10 000 =
100 000 =
1 000 000 =
1 000 000 000 =
hundre-og-en
to-hundre-og-tolv
tre-hundre-og-sytti-åtte
tusen
ett-tusen-to-hundre
tre-tusen-fire-hundre-og-ni
ti-tusen
hundre-tusen
en million
en milliard
Ordinal numbers:
1. =
2. =
3. =
4. =
5. =
6. =
7. =
8. =
9. =
10. =
første
andre
tredje
fjerde
femte
sjette
sjuende
åttende
niende
tiende
11. =
12. =
13. =
14. =
15. =
16. =
17. =
18. =
19. =
20. =
ellevte
tolvte
trettende
fjortende
femtende
sekstende
syttende
attende
nittende
tjueende
21. =
22. =
30. =
40. =
50. =
60. =
70. =
80. =
90. =
100. =
1000. =
tjueførste
tjueandre
trettiende
førtiende
femtiende
sekstiende
syttiende
åttiende
nittiende
hundrede
tusende
Hvilken/hvilket/hvilke
The interrogative hvilken (which/what) comes in three variants, depending on both the gender and the number of the following noun.
mask:
fem:
neut:
plural:
en dag
ei uke
et hus
dager/uker/hus
Hvilken dag dra du?
Hvilken dag er best for deg?
Hvilken uke har vi eksamen?
Hvilken uke vil du jobbe?
Hvilket hus bor du i?
Hvilket hus skal du kjøpe?
Hvilke dager har vi norskkurs?
(What day are you leaving?)
(Which day is best for you?)
(What week do we have the exam?)
(Which week do you want to work?)
(What house do you live in?)
(Which house are you going to buy?)
(What days do we have Norwegian classes?)
Note that we often use 'hvilken' in Norwegian where you would use 'what' in English. In principle, 'hva' is never used before a noun in Norwegian (except in the expression 'hva slags' ('what kind of').
Possessives
Possessives are inflected to agree with the gender and the number of the noun they modify.
SINGULAR
1st person:
2nd person:
3rd person:
mask: fem: neut. plur.
min mi mitt mine
din di ditt dine
hennes hennes hennes hennes
hans hans hans hans
(my)
(your)
(her)
(his)
PLURAL
1st person:
2nd person:
3rd person:
mask: fem: neut. plur.
vår vår vårt våre
deres deres deres deres
deres deres deres deres
(our)
(your)
(their)
Possessives can be placed either before or after the noun. When placed before the noun, the noun takes indefinite form. If the possessive is placed after the noun, the noun takes definite form.
e.g.: - Min bror bor i Fredrikstad. or: - Broren min bor i Fredrikstad.
While there are some dialectal differences in the placement of possessive, in most dialects, you will find that the possessive is placed before the noun when it is stressed and after the noun when it is unstressed.
e.g.: Det er mi bok, ikke di! (It's my book, not yours!)
The main consideration here is the ownership of the book. When ownership is not the main focus, the possessive is usually placed after the noun:
e.g.: Jeg skal besøke mora mi i morgen. (I will visit my mother tomorrow).
The essential information here is whom you are going to visit, not whose mother you are going to visit.
Demonstratives
When it is close to you:
mask:
fem:
neut:
plural:
en jakke
ei skjorte
et skjerf
jakker/skjorter/skjerf
Hva koster denne jakken?
Hva koster denne skjorta?
Hva koster dette skjerfet?
Hva koster disse jakkene/... ?
(How much is this jacket?)
(How much is this shirt?)
(How much is this scarf?)
(How much are these jackets/... ?)
When you are pointing at it from a distance:
mask:
fem:
neut:
plural:
en jakke
ei skjorte
et skjerf
jakker/skjorter/skjerf
Hva koster den jakken?
Hva koster den skjorta?
Hva koster det skjerfet?
Hva koster de jakkene/... ?
(How much is that jacket?)
(How much is that shirt?)
(How much is that scarf?)
(How much are those jackets/... ?)
Quantifiers
Quantifiers typically precede a noun and indicate the quantum of that specific noun. They vary based on whether the noun is countable (e.g., 'cars') or uncountable (e.g., 'snow').
The quantifiers can also function independently, as demonstrated in the examples below.
COUNTABLE
mange
få
noen
alle
ingen
(many)
(many people)
(few)
(some/any,
someone/anyone)
(all, everyone/
everybody)
(no, none
no one, nobody)
Hvor mange barn har du?
Mange spiser aldri lunsj.
Det er veldig få banker i byen.
Hvorfor er vi så få i dag?
Har du noen søsken?
Kjenne du noen i klassen?
Alle vennene mine bor i Tromsø.
Jeg kjenner alle i klassen.
Jeg har ingen brødre.
Jeg kjenner ingen i klassen.
(How many kids do you have?)
(Many people never eat lunch.)
(There are very few banks in town.)
(Why are we so few today?)
(Do you have any siblings?)
(Do you know anyone in the class?)
(All my friends live in Tromsø.)
(I know everyone in the class.)
(I have no brothers.)
I know no one in the class.)
UNCOUNTABLE
mye
lite
noe, litt
alt (all*)
ikke noe,
ingenting
(much,
a lot)
(not much)
(some/any,
a bit)
(all,
everything)
(no,
nothing)
Hvor mye kaffe vil du ha?
Jeg jobber mye.
Jeg spiser lite kjøtt.
Jeg forstår lite.
Det kan være noe snø i juni.
Vil du ha litt kaffe?
Jeg forsto noe/litt.
Han drakk alt vannet.
Jeg forsto alt.
Det er ikke noe snø i Danmark.
Jeg forstår ingenting.
(How much coffee do you want?)
(I'm working a lot.)
(I don't eat much meat.)
(I don't understand much.)
(There can be some snow in June.)
(Do you want some coffee?)
(I understood some/a bit.)
(He drank all the water.)
(I understood everything.)
(There is no snow in Denmark.)
(I understand nothing.)
* Note that before a masculine or feminine noun, 'all' is used instead of 'alt'.
Comparison of quantifiers
Some quantifiers can be used in comparative and superlative form.
COUNTABLE
Positive
mange
få
Compative
flere
færre
Superlative
flest
færrest
UNCOUNTABLE
Positive
mye
lite
Compative
mer
mindre
Superlative
mest
minst
Begge to or begge deler?
We use begge to (or just begge) when referring to two concrete, countable items or persons.
eks.: - Vil du ha denne stolen eller den som står der borte? - Jeg vil ha begge (to).
- Skal du besøke Kari eller Tonje? - Jeg skal besøke begge (to).
We use begge deler when:
1: we refer to something uncountable.
eks.: - Vil du ha vann eller melk? - Jeg vil ha begge deler.
- Liker du jazz eller rock? - Jeg liker begge deler.
2: we refer to countable items or persons in general.
eks.: - Bruker du votter eller hansker? - Jeg bruker begge deler.
- Liker du harde eller myke stoler? - Jeg liker begge deler.
- Kjenner du nordmenn eller svensker? - Jeg kjenner begge deler.
The counterpart to begge to and begge deler is ingen av dem and ingen av delene.
eks.: - Elsker du Kari eller Tonje? - Jeg elsker ingen av dem.
- Drikker du kaffe eller te? - Jeg drikker ingen av delene.
Reflexive possessives
In the third person (i.e., han, hun, de), sin, si, sitt, sine are used when the object belongs to the subject.
If the object belongs to someone else, hans, hennes and deres are used.
In the first and second person (i.e. jeg, du, vi, dere), there is no such distinction.
Eva og Adam er gift.
Isak er forelsket i Eva...
SUBJ. OBJ.
Isak elsker kona hans.
SUBJ. OBJ.
Adam elsker kona si.
See, there we're having a problem...
So, 'Adam elsker kona si', but still: 'Kona hans heter Eva.' Wrong: *'Kona si heter Eva.'
Why is the last sentence wrong? The refleksive possessives can only be used in the object, they can never be part of the subject. Study the examples below.
ei melk
en mat
et vann
epler
Han drikker melka si.
Hun drikker melka si.
De drikker melka si.
Han spiser maten sin.
Hun spiser maten sin.
De spiser maten sin.
Han drikker vannet sitt.
Hun drikker vannet sitt.
De drikker vannet sitt.
Han spiser eplene sine.
Hun spiser eplene sine.
De spiser eplene sine.
Melka hans er varm.
Melka hennes er varm.
Melka deres er varm.
Maten hans er god.
Maten hennes er god.
Maten deres er god.
Vannet hans er kaldt.
Vannet hennes er kaldt.
Vannet deres er kaldt.
Eplene hans er røde.
Eplene hennes er røde.
Eplene deres er røde.
OBJECT SUBJECT