Idiomatics
Går or drar?
When speaking of getting from one point to another, går always means walk, while drar is equivalent to go.
e.g.: Jeg går til universitetet. (I´m walking to the university.)
Jeg drar til universitetet. (I´m going to the university.)
In some fixed expressions, however, går can be translated to go or attend.
e.g.: Hvordan går det? (How is it going?)
Hun går på norskkurs. (She is attending a Norwegian course.)
Drar is also used to inform that you are leaving a place.
e.g Jeg drar nå. (I am leaving now.)
NB: 'Dra' also has another meaning which you can see in the instructions for some of the exercises: 'Drag'.
Answering negative questions
In many languages, including Norwegian and English, the response to a negative question is contrary to what you might find in other languages. When answering a negative question affirmatively, jo is used instead of ja.
You could ask Julia: - Er du russisk? Julia: - Ja, jeg er russisk.
- Studerer du norsk? - Ja, jeg studerer norsk.
Or you could ask (if you expect positive answers):
- Er du ikke russisk? Julia: - Jo, jeg er russisk.
- Studerer du ikke norsk? - Jo, jeg studerer norsk.
Nei is used for negative responses in both positive and negative questions.
- Er du norsk? Julia: - Nei, jeg er ikke norsk.
- Er du ikke norsk? Julia: - Nei, jeg er ikke norsk.
Få or ha?
Få is typically used when you ask for something that you do not already possess.
e.g.: Kan jeg få litt vann? (Could I have some water?)
Du kan få litt vann. (You can have some water.)
Ha is typically used for describing something that you already possess.
e.g.: Jeg har vann. (I have water.)
Har du vann? (Do you have water?)
Ha is also used in combination with the modal verb vil.
e.g.: Jeg vil ha vann. (I want water.)
Vil ha or har lyst på?
Vil ha is used when offering something to someone or expressing what you want.
e.g.: Vil du ha litt kaffe? (Would you like some coffee?/Do you want some coffee?)
Jeg vil ha en kopp kaffe. (I would like to have a cup of coffee’/I want a cup of coffee.)
Har lyst på is used solely to express desire without implying an immediate action or acquire. You won't use this expression in a store, because the people working there might be confused about whether you are actually going to have it.
NB: Used before a verb, the preposition 'til' is used instead of 'på' (or nowadays, often just dropped).
e.g.: Jeg har lyst (til) å danse. (I feel like dancing.)
Vær så god!
'Vær så god' is used in three different situations:
1. As a reply to 'takk', meaning 'you are welcome'.
2. When giving something to someone, expressing 'here you are'.
3. In a store or office setting, where a clerk wishes to convey that they are at your service, or when answering the phone.
Synes or tror? Or tenker?
Synes is used to express you subjective opinion about something; there is no right or wrong answer, it's simply a matter of opinion.
e.g.:
Tror is used for uncertain fact, something that you do not know for sure, you just believe this to be true.
e.g.:
Tenker, however, is used neither for opinions nor beliefs; it is used simply in references to the activity of thinking in itself.
e.g.:
Jeg synes hun er veldig hyggelig.
Jeg synes det er fint å bo i Norge.
Hva synes du om maten?
(I think she is very nice.)
(I think it's nice to live in Norway.)
(What do you think about the food?)
Jeg tror hun kommer fra Syria.
Jeg tror ikke han kommer i dag.
Tror du på Gud?
(I believe she is from Syria.)
(I don't think he's coming today.)
(Do you believe in God?)
Jeg tenker på deg hver dag.
Han tenker bare på seg selv.
Hva tenker du på?
(I'm thinking about you every day')
(He's only thinking about himself')
(What are you thinking about?)
Folk or mennesker?
Folk and mennesker can both be translated to 'people', but the choice depends on the context.
When referring to people in general or as a mass, folk is preferred.
e.g.: Folk i Norge snakker bra engelsk.
Det var mye folk på konserten.
Mennesker is used:
- when they are counted. e.g.: Det var for mange mennesker på bussen.
Jeg lager middag til 50 mennesker.
- when talking about humans as a species. e.g.: Ulver ('wolves') spiser ikke mennesker.
When describing someone, you would rather use person (although, menneske also works).
e.g.: Han er en hyggelig person.
(People in Norway speak good English.)
(There were a lot of people at the concert).
How to tell the time
Although we use 24 hours format when referring to the time using digits, i.e., 7:00 and 19:00, we use only the 12 hours format in daily speech. This means that both 7:00 and 19:00 are referred to as 'klokka sju'; you never say 'klokka 19' (unless you work in television or radio announcing programs).
So if someone invites you to dinner 'klokka sju', how do you know when to show up? Well, no one has dinner early in the morning, so mostly this will be obvious from the context. If you really need to specify, however, you could say 'klokka sju om morgenen' versus 'klokka sju om kvelden', or 'klokka fire om natta' versus 'klokka fire om ettermiddagen'.
For å ...
'For å' is used to express that you are doing something with a specific purpose.
e.g.: Jeg går på norskkurs for å lære norsk. (I go to a Norwegian course to learn Norwegian.)
Jeg betaler for å få hjelp. (I pay to get help.)
Å ... ferdig
In principle, you can combine all action verbs with 'ferdig'. Look at the examples.
- Jeg må skrive ferdig postkortet.
- Jeg må spise ferdig først.
- Jeg må lage ferdig middagen.
- La meg snakke ferdig!
(I have to finish writing the postcard.)
(I have to finish eating first.)
(I have to finish cooking the dinner.)
(Let me finish/hear me out!)
If you want to express that you just need to finish something, without specifying what you are doing, you can use 'gjøre ferdig' or 'bli ferdig med'.
- Jeg må gjøre ferdig postkortet.
- Jeg må bli ferdig med middagen.
(I have to finish the postcard.)
(I have to finish the dinner.)
Short answers (kortsvar)
If a modal verb (skal, vil, kan, må, bør) or certain other verbs (er, har, blir, synes, tror) are used in the question, the same verb is used in the short answer.
For other verbs used in the question, gjør is used in the short answer. Study the examples.
- Kan du snakke norsk?
- Skal du på jobb i morgen?
- Vil du lære mer norsk?
- Må du hjem etterpå?
- Er du sulten?
- Har du barn?
- Blir du ofte sint?
- Synes du han er kjekk?
- Tror du han liker deg?
- Ja, det kan jeg / Nei, det kan jeg ikke
- Ja, det skal jeg / Nei, det skal jeg ikke
- Ja, det vil jeg / Nei, det vil jeg ikke
- Ja, det må jeg /Nei, det må jeg ikke
- Ja, det er jeg / Nei, det er jeg ikke
- Ja, det har jeg / Nei, det har jeg ikke
- Ja, det blir jeg / Nei, det blir jeg ikke
- Ja, det synes jeg / Nei, det synes jeg ikke
- Ja, det tror jeg / Nei, det tror jeg ikke
(Yes, I can / No, I can not)
But:
- Jobber du i Norge?
- Spiser du fisk?
- Snakker du engelsk?
- Ja, det gjør jeg / Nei, det gjør jeg ikke
- Ja, det gjør jeg / Nei, det gjør jeg ikke
- Ja, det gjør jeg / Nei, det gjør jeg ikke
(Yes, I do / No, I don't)
... som helst.
'...som helst' can be used together with most question words and phrases. Study the examples.
- Det kan begynne å regne når som helst.
- Jeg kan spise hva som helst.
- Vi kan spørre hvem som helst.
- Dere kan sitte hvor som helst.
- De kan komme hvilken dag som helst nå.
(It can start raining anytime.)
(I can eat anything.)
(We can ask whomever.)
(You can sit anywhere.)
(They can come any day now.)
Å ha det...
A number of adjectives (or actually manner adverbs) can be used in this expression to describe an atmosphere or condition.
- Jeg har det vanskelig for øyeblikket.
- Vi har det morsomt på jobb.
- Vi har det bra sammen.
- Hun har det alltid så travelt.
- Vi hadde det veldig hyggelig i Roma.
- Ha det bra!
(I am having a hard time at the moment.)
(We are having fun at work.)
(We are doing well together.)
(She is always so busy.)
(We had a very nice time in Rome.)
(Farewell!)