Verbs
Present tense ('presens')
Present tense is formed by adding /r/ to the infinitive form.
Infinitive form
å snakke
å jobbe
å kjøre
(to speak)
(to work)
(to drive)
Present tense
snakker
jobber
kjører
However, there are some irregular verbs not following this rule, e.g.:
Infinitive form
å gjøre
å si
å spørre
å vite
å være
(to do)
(to say)
(to ask)
(to know)
(to be)
Present tense
gjør
sier
spør
vet
er
In Norwegian, verbs always remain the same regardless of person; there is always only one form in the present tense.
Jeg er
Du er
Hun er
Han er
Det er
(I am)
(You are)
(She is)
(He is)
(It is)
Vi er
Dere er
De er
(We are)
(You are)
(They are)
In contrast to English, the continuous form (e.g., studying) is not used in Norwegian. Therefore, 'å være' (to be) is never used as a helping verb.
e.g.: I study = Jeg studerer I am studying = Jeg studerer Wrong!!!: Jeg er studerer*
The use of the infinitive form
The infinitive form can never be used alone as the main verb in a frase or sentence; you always need a verb with a time specification, such as present or past tense. Instead, infinitives are typically used as:
1. the object
e.g.:
s v o
Jeg liker å synge
s v o
Jeg elsker å danse
(I like to sing/I like singing)
(I love to danse/I love dansing)
2. the logical subject
e.g.:
s v log. s
Det er morsomt å synge
s v log. s
Det er hyggelig å danse
(It's fun to sing/Singing is fun)
(It's nice to danse/Dansing is nice)
Modal verbs
When using a modal verb, the second verb always takes the infinitive form, but then without the infinitive marker 'å'. We have 5 modale verbs in Norwegian.
1. kan
2. må
3. vil
4. skal
5. bør
Jeg kan snakke engelsk
Jeg må dra da
Jeg vil lære norsk
Jeg skal kjøpe mat
Jeg bør studere mer
(I can speak English)
(I must go now)
(I want to learn Norwegian)
(I will buy food)
(I should study more)
1. kan
- 'kan' is used to express your ability to do something and is then like 'can' in English.
e.g.: Jeg kan hjelpe deg (I can help you)
Jeg kan gjøre det (I can do it)
- 'kan' is also used to describe your knowledge of a specific topic and can then be used alone.
e.g.: Jeg kan norsk (I know Norwegian)
Jeg kan geografi (I know geography)
2. må
- 'må' is used to express the need or obligation to do something and is then equivalent to 'must', 'have to' or 'need to' in English.
e.g.: Du må hjelpe meg (You must help me)
Jeg må dra nå (I have to leave now)
Jeg må lære mer (I need to learn more)
3. vil
- 'vil' is used to express your wish to do something and is then equivalent to 'want to' in English.
e.g.: Jeg vil lære mer norsk (I want to learn more Norwegian)
Vil du se på tv? (Do you want to watch telly?)
- to express that you want something (in contrast to to do something), 'vil' is used together with 'ha'.
e.g.: Jeg vil ha pizza (I want pizza) wrong!!!: Jeg vil pizza*
Vil du ha kaffe? (Do you want coffee?)
Note that 'vil' sometimes also is used to express future, which you can learn more about here.
4. skal
- 'skal' is used to express future in Norwegian and is then equivalent to 'wil' in English.
e.g.: Jeg skal gjøre det i kveld (I will do it tonight)
Jeg skal studere historie neste semester (I will study history next semester)
Note that you cannot always use 'skal' to express future. Learn about it here.
5. bør
- 'bør' is used when to want to give someone an advice.
e.g.: Du bør lese mer (You should read more)
Jeg tror vi bør dra nå (I think we should leave now)
Hvor skal du (where are you going)?
When the modal verb skal is used in combination with a motion verb (e.g., dra), the motion verb is often omitted.
Jeg skal dra til Sverige
Jeg skal dra i kantina
Jeg skal dra ut
Jeg skal til Sverige
Jeg skal i kantina
Jeg skal ut
(I'm going to Sweden)
(I'm going to the canteen)
(I'm going out)
Må can be used in the same way.
Jeg må dra på jobb
Hun må dra hjem nå
Jeg må på jobb
Hun må hjem nå
(I have to go to work)
(She has to go home now)
Imperative form
The imperative form is used when we give an instruction or command. Imperatives are formed by removing the final /e/ from the infinitives. When the infinitiv only consist of one syllable, the imperative form will be identical to the infinitive form.
å lese
å sette
å sove
å se
- Les side 24!
- Sett inn riktig form!
- Sov nå!
- Ikke se på henne!
(Read page 24!)
(Put in the right form!)
(Sleep now!)
(Don't look at her!)
Transitive verbs
A transitive verb - in contrast to an intransitive verb - is a verb that requires an object. For instance, you cannot simply say 'Jeg skal kjøpe' ('I will buy') - you need to buy something, like 'Jeg skal kjøpe brød' ('I will buy bread').
Similarly, 'å legge' is a transitive verb and requires an object, while 'å ligge' is intransitive and can be used without an object. 'Å sette' is transitive, while 'å stå' and 'å sitte' are intransitive.
In chapter 4A, we had a similar contrast between å våkne (intransitive) and å vekke (transitive).
- Tone våkner klokka 7 (Tone wakes up at 7)
- Hun vekker barna 7:15 (She wakes up the children 7:15)
Simple past ('preteritum')
Regular verbs are conjugated in four different ways.
Group 1 - ending in /et/
This group consists of verbs with a consonant cluster (two or more consonants) before the final /e/ in the infinitive form (e.g., vente). The verbs in this group end in /et/.
å snakke
å vaske
å vente
å angre
(speak)
(wash)
(wait)
(regret)
- snakker
- vasker
- venter
- angrer
- snakket
- vasket
- ventet
- angret
Group 2 - ending in /te/
This group consists of verbs with a simple consonant before the final /e/ in the infinitive form (e.g., lese). The verbs in this group end in /te/.
å lese
å peke
å møte
å vise
(read)
(point)
(meet)
(show)
- leser
- peker
- møter
- viser
- leste
- pekte
- møtte
- viste
Group 3 - ending in /de/
A small group of verbs receives /de/ instead of /te/ in the simple past. Typically, these verbs have a simple /v/ or a diphthong (i.e., /ei/) before the final /e/ in the infinitive form.
å prøve
å øve
å leie
å veie
(try)
(practise)
(rent)
(weigh)
- prøver
- øver
- leier
- veier
- prøvde
- øvde
- leide
- veide
Group 4 - ending in /dde/
This group comprises verbs with only one syllable in the infinitive form. The verbs in this group end in /dde/.
å bo
å tro
å snø
å skje
(live)
(believe)
(snow)
(happen)
- bor
- tror
- snør
- skjer
- bodde
- trodde
- snødde
- skjedde
Exceptions
While most regular verbs follow the rule described above, there are exceptions for some consonants or consonant clusters.
If there is only one consonant before the final /e/ in the infinitive form, and the consonant is a voiced stop (i.e., /d/, /g/), the verb is conjugated as in Group 1.
In some cases, verbs with two consonants before the final /e/ are conjugated as in Group 2. Typically (though not always), this is triggered by /nn/, /mm/, /ll/, /ng/, /nk/, /nd/. When the two consonants are identical, one of them is delete in the past form.
å bade
å lede
å lage
å klage
(bath)
(lead)
(make)
(complain)
- bader
- leder
- lager
- klager
- badet
- ledet
- laget
- klaget
å kjenne
å glemme
å spille
å trenge
å tenke
å sende
(know)
(forget)
(play)
(need)
(think)
(send)
- kjenner
- glemmer
- spiller
- trenger
- tenker
- sender
- kjente
- glemte
- spilte
- trengte
- tenkte
- sendte
Å bli
'Å bli' is used to express change - something that is not but will become. In principle, we can use 'å bli' before any noun, adjective or quantifier (such as 'mange', 'mye'.)
snø
et møte
kald
sint
mange
mye
- Det blir snø i morgen.
- Det blir møte på fredag.
- Det blir kaldt neste uke.
- Han blir alltid så sint.
- Vi blir ikke så mange i kveld.
- Det blir mye å gjøre neste semester.
(There is going to be snow tomorrow.)
(There will be a meeting on Friday.)
(It will be cold next week.)
(He always becomes so angry.)
(We won't be so many tonight.)
(There will be a lot to do next semester.)
Present perfect ('presens perfektum')
If you are already familiar with using regular verbs in the simple past ('preteritum'), learning the present prefect forms will be straightforward.
INFINITIV
PRESENT
SIMPLE PAST
PRESENT PERFECT
Group 1 (et- et):
Group 2 (te- t):
Group 3 (de- d):
Group 4 (dde- d):
å snakke
å spise
å leve
å bo
snakker
spiser
lever
bor
snakket
spiste
levde
bodde
har snakket
har spist
har levd
har bodd
You use present perfect:
1: - when referring to a period of time that has not yet ended.
e.g.:
In contract to:
Jeg har jobbet mye denne uka.
Har du vært på jobb i dag?
Jeg jobbet mye sist uke.
Var du på jobb i går?
(I have been working a lot this week.)
(Have you been to work today?)
(I worked a lot last week.)
(Were you at work yesterday?)
2: - when an action that started in the past, is still going on.
e.g.:
In contract to:
Jeg har bodd Norge i tre år.
Jeg bodde i Canada i tre år.
(I have been living in Norway for three years.)
(and still live here)
(I was living in Canada for three years.)
(but not anymore)
3: - when the focus in on the result on the action, not when it took place.
e.g.:
- Vil du ha mat?
- Nei takk, jeg har allerede spist.
(Do you want food?)
(No thanks, I have already eaten.)
(meaning: I am full)
4: - when talking about your general experiences without focusing on when it happened.
e.g.:
- Har du vært i Danmark?
- Har du prøvd dette spillet før?
(Have you been to Denmark?)
(Have you tried this game before?)
Note: When using verbs indicating movement (e.g., dra, komme) or change (e.g., bli), 'er' is often used instead of 'har'.
e.g.:
- Han er allerede dratt.
- Er alle kommet nå?
- Det er blitt mørkt nå.
(He's already gone.)
(Has everyone arrived now?)
(It has become dark now.)
Expressing future. Skal or vil?
As you have already seen, there are several ways to express the future in Norwegian.
You can use present tense when it is evident from the context that you are referring to the future, typically with the use of a time expression.
Or you can use skal as an auxiliary verb + the main verb in the infinitive form.
In some contexts, however, 'skal' cannot be used. You can only use 'skal' if there is an intention or will behind the action. It has to be something that is decided. For example, you cannot say 'det skal bli sol i morgen'. Nobody decides whether it is going to be sunny or not.
So, if what you express is a prediction, you must use 'vil' instead of 'skal' (alternatively: 'kommer til å'). Look at the examples. There is no intention or decision behind the actions; you are simply expressing what you believe will happen.
- Det er lørdag i morgen.
- Det blir sol i morgen.
- Jeg har forelesning på fredag.
- Han kommer tilbake neste helg.
- Er du hjemme i kveld?
e.g.:
- Jeg skal jobbe i morgen.
- Skal du være hjemme i kveld.
- Hun skal flytte til Finland.
e.g.:
e.g.:
- Det vil begynne å snø snart.
- Jeg tror ikke snømannen vil overleve sommeren.
- Det vil bli lettere neste semester.
- Jeg tror konflikten vil eskalere.
- Vi kommer til å savne deg.
- Jeg kommer aldri til å glemme deg.
Passive
In a passive sentence, the logical object becomes the grammatical subject.
s o s
e.g.: - They employed her. - She was employed.
There are two ways to form a passive sentence in Norwegian:
1. å bli in any tense + a participle (i.e., a verb in the past perfect form). Passiv with å bli is typically used when something happens only once.
- Hun vasker huset.
- Politiet tok dem.
- De har kastet henne ut.
e.g.:
- Huset blir vasket (av henne).
- De ble tatt (av politiet).
- Hun har/er blitt kastet ut (av dem).
2. infinitive + s ('s-passiv'). S-passiv is typically used when something happens on a regular basic, or in combination with a modal verb.
e.g.:
- De låser døra klokka 16:00.
- De kaller dette 's-passiv'.
- Vi må gjøre noe.
- Dere kan ikke spise dette.
- De skal vaske huset.
- Vi bør repetere dette.
- Døra låses klokka 16:00.
- Dette kalles 's-passiv'.
- Noe må gjøres.
- Dette kan ikke spises.
- Huset skal vaskes.
- Dette bør repeteres.
Participles used adjectival
When the participle is used to describe an item or a person, rather than actions, the participle functions like an adjective.
e.g.:
- Hun er ansatt på universitetet.
- Bestikket er laget av plast.
- Nepal er kjent for sine høye fjell.
- Hun er dratt.
(She is employed by the University.)
(The cutlery is made of plastic.)
(Nepal is known for its high mountains.)
(She is gone.)
Past perfect (preteritum perfektum)
The past perfect is used to describe an action that took place before another action in the past and when the second action is seen in light of what happened before. While 'å ha' in the present perfect is used in the present tense (i.e., 'har'), 'å ha' vil take past tense in past perfect (i.e. 'hadde').
har spist hadde spist
- Hun ville ikke ha mat, for hun hadde akkurat spist.
- Jeg kunne ikke norsk da jeg flyttet til Norge, for jeg hadde aldri studert norsk før.
- Han spurte meg om jeg ville se Batman, men jeg hadde allerede sett filmen.
Hypothetical cases
The easiest way to express hypothetical cases in Norwegian is to use the simple past and ville + infinitive. Study the examples.
- Hvis jeg var deg, ville jeg flytte til Tromsø.
- Hvis jeg var rik, ville jeg kjøpe meg nytt hus.
- Hvis jeg kunne bestemme, ville alt bli bra.
- Hvis jeg hadde tid, ville jeg dra på kino.