Basic sentence structure

   |  Dan

This lesson will go over basic sentence structure.

Grammar Review

Verb Conjugation

Conjugating the present tense of verbs in Norwegian is fairly simple. Most present tense verbs just add an -r to the end of the infinitive, and drop the infinitive marker (å).

Infinitive

Present

English

Infinitive

Present

English

Å lage

Lager

Makes / Making

Å danse

Danser

Dances / Dancing

Å sove

Sover

Sleeps / Sleeping

Å lese

Leser

Reads / Reading

There are some exceptions / irregulars:

Infinitive

Present

English

Infinitive

Present

English

Å kunne

Kan

To be able to

Å måtte

Må

To have to

Å skulle

Skal

To have to; to be going to

Å ville

Vil

To want

Å være

Er

To be

Å vite

Vet

To know

Past tense conjugation is a bit more difficult, however there are some guidelines (but keep in mind there are exceptions).

  1. If the verb ends with a double consonant, consonant cluster, or voiced plosive (b / d), past tense will end in -et.

  2. If the verb ends in a single consonant (except v / b / d), past tense ends in -te.

  3. If the verb ends with v or diphthong, the past tense ends in -de.

  4. If the verb has only one syllable with a long vowel, past tense ends in -dde.

Rule Number

Infinitive

Past Tense

English

1

Å hente

hentet

Fetched

Å savne

savnet

Missed

2

Å tape

Tapte

Lost

Å kjøre

Kjørte

Drove

3

Å prøve

Prøvde

Tried

Å feie

Feide

Swept

4

Å bo

Bodde

Lived

Å bry

Brydde

Cared

There are two ways to talk about future activities. Sometimes a present tense verb + a time adverbial is used. Modal verbs are another way to express future tense.

Eksempel English

Present Tense + Time Adverbial

Faren min drar til biblioteket senere.

My dad is going to the library later.

Modal Verbs

Gustav skal besøke broren sin.

Gustav is going to visit his brother.

Adjective Basics

Adjectives typically have to agree with the gender and the number of the noun. If the noun is neuter gender, then in the singular indefinite form, the adjective takes a -t ending. In the plural indefinite, the adjective takes an -e ending. Note there are exceptions.

Singular Indefinite Plural Indefinite

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Masculine

En dyr ring

An expensive ring

Dyre ringer

Expensive rings

En kald drikke

A cold beverage

Kalde drikker

Cold beverages

Feminine

Ei dyr bok

An expensive book

Dyre bøker

Expensive books

Ei kald årstid

A cold season

Kalde årstider

Cold seasons

Neuter

Et dyrt hus

An expensive house

Dyre hus

Expensive houses

Et kaldt rom

A cold room

Kalde rom

Cold rooms

When the noun is in the definite form, the adjective takes an -e ending.

Singular Definite Plural Definite

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Masculine

Den dyre ringen

The expensive ring

De dyre ringene

The expensive rings

Denne kalde drikken

This cold beverage

Disse kalde drikkene

These cold beverages

Feminine

Den dyre boka

The expensive book

De dyre bøkene

The expensive books

Denne kalde årstida

This cold season

Disse kalde årstidene

These cold seasons

Neuter

Det dyre huset

The expensive house

De dyre husa / husene

The expensive houses

Dette kalde rommet

This cold room

Disse kalde romma / rommene

These cold rooms

Basic Sentence Structure

This lesson will go over basic sentence structure in Norwegian, including the V2 rule. Let’s start with question words, first, though.

Interrogatives

An interrogative word (also called a question word) is used to ask a question, such as what, when, where, who(m), why, and how.

Interrogative Meaning Example English

1

Hva

What

Hva er navnet hennes?

What is her name?

2

Hvor

Where

Hvor bor du?

Where do you live?

3

Når

When

Når begynner filmen?

When does the movie begin?

4

Hvem

Who

Hvem er moren din?

Who is your mother?

5

Hvordan

How

Hvordan skjedde ulykken?

How did the accident happen?

6

Hvorfor

Why

Hvorfor ringte du ham?

Why did you call him?

7

Hvor mye

How much

Hvor mye koster det?

How much does it cost?

8

Hvor mange

How many

Hvor mange søsken har du?

How many siblings do you have?

9

Hvor lenge

How long

Hvor lenge har du lært norsk?

How long have you learned Norwegian?

10

Hvor høy(t)

How high / tall

Hvor høyt er treet?

How tall is the tree?

11

Hvor lang(t)

How far

Hvor langt unna er banken?

How far away is the bank?

12

Hvor gammel(t)

How old

Hvor gammel er du?

How old are you?

13

Hvem sin / sitt / si / sine

Hvis (archaic)

Whose

Hvem sin sykkel er dette?

Whose bike is this?

14

Hvilken / Hvilket / Hvilke

Which

Hvilken farge er bilen din?

What color is your car?

Hvilket år ble du uteksaminert?

What year did you graduate?

Hvilke bøker tilhører deg?

Which books belong to you?

SVO & V2

Norwegian and English sentence structure are very similar; both follow a subject-verb-object (SVO) sentence structure. However, there are some instances in Norwegian when this is not the case, and for people learning the language, it can take some getting used to.

First, let’s have a quick review of what a subject, verb, and object are.

Grammar Term Definition Example Ask yourself…​ English

Subject

Refers to a person or thing being discussed.

Lucas drikker te.

Who is drinking tea?

“Lucas,” so that is the subject.

Lucas drinks tea.

Verb

Action taking place.

What is Lucas doing?

“Drikker,” so that is the verb..

Object

Refers to the person or thing that is receiving the action.

What is Lucas drinking?

“Te,” so that is the object.

When the subject is first in the sentence, the sentence will follow the SVO sentence structure.

Example

Subject

Verb

Adverb

Object

Adverbial
Phrase

English

Jeg kjøpte en frakk i dag.

Jeg

kjøpte

----------

en frakk

i dag.

I bought a coat today.

Jeg kjøpte ikke en frakk i dag.

Jeg

kjøpte

ikke

en frakk

i dag.

I did not buy a coat today.

Jeg spiste en vaffel i går.

Jeg

spiste

----------

en vaffel

i går

I ate a waffle yesterday.

Note: Pay attention to the placement of “ikke” in the above sentence.

As you can see, the Norwegian sentences and the English sentence both have SVO. However, Norwegian has a V2 rule. This means that when the subject of a sentence is displaced by another word or phrase, then the subject and verb switch places, so that the verb remains in the second position.

Adverbial Phrase Verb Subject Adverb Object English

I dag kjøpte jeg en frakk.

I dag

kjøpte

jeg

----------

en frakk.

Today, I bought a coat.

I dag kjøpte jeg ikke en frakk.

I dag

kjøpte

jeg

ikke

en frakk.

Today, I did not buy a coat.

I dag kjøpte jeg ikke mat

I dag

kjøpte

jeg

ikke

mat

Today, I did not buy food

I dag laga grannen min mat til meg.

I dag

laga

grannen min

………​

mat (til meg)

Today my neighbour made food for me.

As you can see, the adverbial phrase, “I dag,” is in the first position, and so the verb, “kjøpte,” and the subject, “jeg,” are switched around. If these were literally translated to English, that first sentence would say, “Today bought I a coat,” and the second would say, “Today bought I not a coat.”

When asking a question, inversion usually applies.

Example Interrogative Verb Subject Object English

Hvorfor lærer du norsk?

Hvorfor

lærer

du

norsk?

Why are you learning Norwegian?

Har du en bil?

--------------

Har

du

en bil?

Do you have a car?

If the question starts off with certain question words, there is no inversion.

Example

Interrogative

Subject

Verb

Object

Pronoun

English

Hvem har en bil?

Hvem

har

en bil?

---------------

Who has a car?

Hvem sitt hus er det?

Hvem sitt

hus

er

det?

----------------

Whose house is that?

Hvilket eple er ditt?

Hvilket

eple

er

---------

ditt?

Which apple is yours?

Main Clauses & Subordinate Clauses

Many sentences are made up of a main clause and a subordinate clause.

Main clause (sometimes called an “independent clause”) - forms a complete sentence by itself; you could put a period at the end of a main clause and it would make perfect sense.

Subordinate clause (sometimes called a “dependent clause”) - usually begins with a subordinating conjunction (aka subjunction) and cannot stand alone as a complete sentence, by itself; it is dependent on a main clause. There are a lot of subjunctions; you can see a lesson plan on them here.

Example Main Clause Subordinate Clause English

Jeg er trøtt, fordi jeg jobbet i dag.

Jeg er trøtt

fordi jeg jobbet i dag.

I am tired because I worked today.

Jeg spiste pizza siden jeg var sulten.

Jeg spiste pizza

siden jeg var sulten.

I ate pizza since I was hungry.

Falch var glad fordi han hadde en venn med samme navn!

Falch var glad

Fordi han hadde en venn med samme navn!

Falch was happy because he had a friend with the same name!

Jeg er sliten fordi jeg gikk på tur i 4 timer i dag.

Jeg er sliten

Fordi jeg gikk på tur i 4 timer i dag

I am tired because I went hiking for 4 hours today.

Notice in the subordinate clauses, in the above sentences, the subject and verb are not inverted. However, if you were to place that entire subordinate clause in the front of the sentence, take a look at what happens to the main clause.

Example Subordinate Clause Main Clause English

(1st)

(2nd)

Siden jeg jobbet i dag, er jeg trøtt.

Siden jeg jobbet i dag,

er

jeg trøtt

Since I worked today, I am tired.

Siden jeg var sulten, spiste jeg pizza.

Siden jeg var sulten,

spiste

jeg pizza

Since I was hungry, I ate pizza.

Siden jeg var lat, stjal jeg en setning.

Siden jeg var lat

stjal

jeg en setning

Since I was lazy, I stole a sentence.

Etter han hørte trommene, ble han gal.

Etter han hørte trommene,

ble

Han gal

After he heard the drums he became crazy.

Inversion happens in the main clause because the subordinate clause is in the first position (displacing the subject of the main clause). In order to keep the verb in the second position, the verb and subject have to switch places in the main clause.

Let’s Practice:

English Norwegian

When I visited Norway, I bought a Marius sweater.

Da jeg besøkte Norge, kjøpte jeg en Marius genser.

Since she was sick, she did not eat dinner.

Siden hun var syk, spiste hun ikke middag.

After he watched the movie, he went to bed.

Etter han så filmen, gikk han til sengs.

Adverbs

Adverb - word or phrase that describes a noun, adjective, or another adverb.

The placement of an adverb, such as “ikke,” is dependent on if it is located in the main clause or the subordinate clause and whether or not there is inversion in the sentence.

Main or Subordinate Clause Adverb Position Example English

Without Inversion

Main

Placed after the conjugated verb

Jeg kjøpte ikke en frakk i dag.

I did not buy a coat today.

Subordinate

Placed before the conjugated verb

Jeg kjøpte en frakk, siden den ikke var dyr.

I bought a coat since it was not expensive.

With Inversion

Main

Placed after the subject

I dag kjøpte jeg ikke en frakk.

Today, I did not buy a coat.

Subordinate

Placed before the conjugated verb

Siden den ikke var dyr, kjøpte jeg frakken.

Since it wasn’t expensive, I bought the coat.

Let’s Practice: Put “ikke” in the correct location.

Eksempel English

I går spilte han ikkje eit spill.

Yesterday, he did not play a game.

Siden hun ikke spiste frokost, er hun sulten.

Since she didn’t eat breakfast, she’s hungry.

Jeg spiste ikke pizza til lunsj.

I did not eat pizza for lunch.

På grunn av det dårlige været, er svømmebassenget ikke åpent.

Due to the bad weather, the pool is not open.

Siden han ikke hadde penger, dro han ikke til konserten.

Since he didn’t have money, he didn’t go to the concert.

If the sentence contains a compound verb (i.e. har brukt; har besøkt, etc), the adverb comes after the finite (conjugated) verb in the compound.

Eksempel English

Jeg har ikke brukt den nye frakken min ennå.

I have not used my new coat yet.

Jeg har ikke besøkt norge, fordi grunner.

I have not visited Norway, because reasons.

Fordi han alltid hørte trommene, kunne han ikke få fred.

Because he always heard the drums he couldn’t be at peace.

If a pronoun is added to a sentence, the placement can vary. It’s added in one of three different ways:

  1. Often it’s a preposition

  2. Sometimes, it’s an indirect object, placed between the verb and adverb.

  3. Sometimes, it’s an indirect object, placed after the adverb.

NOTE: When used as an indirect object, placement depends on the emphasis in the sentence.

Placement Eksempel English

Preposition

Jeg kjøpte ikke en frakk til henne i dag.

I did not buy her a coat today.

Indirect Object:

Between Verb & Adverb

Jeg ga henne ikke en gave i dag.

I did not give her a gift today.

Indirect Object:

After Adverb

Jeg ga ikke henne en gave i dag.

I did not give her a gift today.

Here are some additional adverbs that are frequently used:

Aldri

Never

Alltid

Always

Muligvis

Possibly

Allerede

Already

Ofte

Often

Kanskje

Maybe

Snart

Soon

Sikkert

Certainly

Sannsynligvis

Probably

Virkelig

Really

Frequency Indicators

Frequency indicators indicate the frequency of an action. Frequency indicators can move around in a sentence. Some examples of frequency indicators are:

Ofte

Often

Jevnlig

Frequently, evenly

Sjeldent

Rarely

Av og til

Sometimes

Nå og da

Now and then

Noen ganger

Sometimes

Ex: Kommer du ofte hit?

Kommer du hit ofte?

Do you come here often?

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References:

Exercise: Rewrite the following sentences using inversion.

  1. Markus spiste en sandwich til lunsj i dag.

  2. Sofia lagde et teppe i forrige uke.

  3. Mathias brukte en paraply siden det regnet.

  4. Jakob jobbet ikke i dag fordi han er syk.

  5. Emma er sliten i dag fordi hun ikke sov godt i går.

  6. Sara har besøkt besteforeldrene sine i Tromsø hver sommer.

  7. Oliver har ikke øvd på fiolin i de siste månedene.

Exercise 2: Write three pairs of sentences; each pair must have one sentence with inversion and one without.
(Note: Try including an adverb in at least one pair).

Ex: Jeg tegnet en blomst i går. (I drew a flower yesterday.) - without inversion

I går tegnet jeg en blomst. (Yesterday, I drew a flower.) - with inversion