Prepositions (part 1)

   |  Dan

This lesson goes over some of the common prepositions used in Norwegian.

Grammar Review

Sentence structure

While most Norwegian sentences use the subject-verb-object (SVO) word order, like English does, Norwegian does have the V2 (verb second) rule. If an adverbial phrase or subordinate clause is at the front of the sentence, the subject and the verb have to switch places (this is called “inversion”) so that the verb stays in the second position.

Eksempel English

SVO

Ella spiste kake til middag i går.

Ella ate cake for dinner yesterday.

Christian besøkte bestemoren sin mens han var i Oslo.

Christian visited his grandmother while he was in Oslo.

V2

I går åt Ella kake til middag.

Yesterday, Ella ate cake for dinner.

Mens Christian var i Oslo, vitja han bestemora si.

While Christian was in Oslo, he visited his grandmother.

If a sentence has more than one verb, the second verb will be in a nonfinite form (e.g. å finne). If the sentence has inversion, then the subject will come between the finite (i.e. conjugated) verb and the nonfinite verb.

Eksempel English

SVO

Erik begynte å skrive avhandlingen sin i forrige uke.

Erik began to write his dissertation last week.

Nora likte å se på filmer med vennene sine da hun gikk på universitetet.

Nora liked to watch films with her friends when she was in university.

V2

I forrige uke begynte Erik å skrive avhandlingen sin

Last week, Erik began writing his dissertation.

Da Nora gikk på universitetet, likte hun å se på filmer med vennene sine

When Nora was in university, she liked to watch movies with her friends.

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.

Infinitive Present English Infinitive Present English

Å telle

teller

Counts / Counting

Å knuse

knuser

Crushes / Crushing

Å brette

bretter

Folds / Folding

Å lyve

lyver

Lies / Lying

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 brette

Brettet

Folded

Å vente

Ventet

Waited

2

Å knuse

knuste

Crushed

Å like

likte

Liked

3

Å sveve

svevde

Hovered

Å veie

veide

Weighed

4

Å kle

kledde

Dressed

Å snu

snudde

Turned

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

De drar til museet senere.

They are going to the museum later.

Modal Verbs

Liam skal se den nye filmen.

Liam is going to watch the new movie.

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 bred ravine

A wide ravine

Brede raviner

Wide ravines

En rød låve

A red barn

Røde låver

Red barns

Feminine

Ei brei mark

A wide field

Breie marker

Wide fields

Ei raud vogn

A red wagon

Raude vogner

Red wagons

Neuter

Et bredt område

A wide area

Brede områder

Wide areas

Et rødt skur

A red shed

Røde skur

Red sheds

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

Singular Definite Plural Definite

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Masculine

Den brede ravinen

The wide ravine

De brede ravinene

The wide ravines

Denne røde låven

This red barn

Disse røde låvene

These red barns

Feminine

Den brede marka

The wide field

De brede markene

The wide fields

Denne røde vogna

This red wagon

Disse røde vognene

These red wagons

Neuter

Det brede området

The wide area

De brede områda / områdene

The wide areas

Dette røde skuret

This red shed

Disse røde skura / skurene

These red sheds

Prepositions

Prepositions are words that describe the spatial relation between 2 things, for example: on, at, by, under, above etc. Prepositions tend to be difficult because their uses can vary from language to language and the relation is never 1:1. For example, in one language you might be in the train while in another language you’re on the train.

This is a general idea of how some of the prepositions are used:

NORWEGIAN

ENGLISH

NORWEGIAN

ENGLISH

1

av

by, of

motsatt av

opposite of

2

bak

behind

nær

near to

3

blant

among

ned

down

4

før

before, prior to

nedenfor

below

5

foran

in front of

opp

up

6

gjennom

through

ovenfor

above

7

hos

at (people)

på

at, on, to, in

8

i

in

over

over, of

9

i nærheten av

near, close to

på toppen av

On top of

10

inn

in

på tvers

across

11

innen

within

rundt

around

12

inni

inside

til

to, towards (person)

13

inn i

into

under

beneath, under

14

innsiden av

inside of

ut

out

15

langt fra

far from

utenfor

outside (of)

16

med

with (thing)

utover

beyond

17

mellom

between

ved siden av

next to

In this lesson, there are a few prepositions that we will go over a bit more in-depth.

For vs Til

“For” and “til” can be confusing for learners; both have various ways they are used. “Til” is one of the most common prepositions in Norwegian and often refers to movement in time and space but has many other uses as well.

For

Til

For an audience

Meant for

For a target group

Destination

Head / Spokesperson of

Unit quantity

Price

Ingredients / Resources / Tools / Utensils

Price

Let’s look at some examples:

Eksempel English

For

Bandet opptrådte for 500 mennesker.

The band performed for 500 people.

Den nye filmen er for barn.

The new movie is for children.

Nina er talspersonen for kampanjen.

Nina is the spokesperson for the campaign.

Jeg gikk til lærbamsebaren klokka elleve for å finne en date men det var for tidlig.

I went to the leather bear bar at 11 AM in order to find a date but it was too early.

Til

“Her er et brev til moren din”, sa postmannen.

“Here is a letter for your mother,” said the mailman.

Familien min reiser til Spania hver sommer.

My family travels to Spain every summer.

Denne boksen er til 24 flasker.

This box is for 24 bottles.

“Jeg trenger to egg til kakeoppskriften”, sa Ella.

“I need two eggs for the cake recipe,” said Ella.

Vi spiste pizza til lunsj.

We ate pizza for lunch.

Jeg har en gave til deg.

I have a present for you.

NOTE: “For å” means “in order to.”

Eksempel English

For å se bedre fikk Marit nye briller.

In order to see better, Marit got new glasses.

Noah studerte mye for å få gode karakterer.

Noah studied a lot in order to get good grades.

På vs I

While “til” often refers to movement toward a place, “på” and “i” are often used to refer to movement towards or into rooms and buildings. However, keep in mind that they do have other uses as well. Also note that there will be exceptions to these.

På I

Inland cities, neighborhoods, areas, institutions

Continents, countries, counties, cities, roads

Mountains

Islands (usually big; countries)

Islands

For x seconds, minutes, hours

Weekdays

Days, weeks, months, years, seasons

When something is on top

When something is inside.

Let’s look at some examples:

Eksempel English

På

Markus bor på Lillehammer.

Markus lives in Lillehammer.

Isabella jobber på biblioteket.

Isabella works at the library.

Tenåringene dro på festen.

The teenagers went to the party.

Paret dro på kino.

The couple went to the movies.

Tobias’ venn bor på Færøyene.

Tobias’s friend lives on the Faroe Islands.

Onkelen min spiller piano på fredager.

My uncle plays piano on Fridays.

På mandag skal vi se den nye filmen.

On Monday, we’re going to see the new movie.

Katten sitter på bordet.

The cat is sitting on the table.

Når lærbamsen fortalte meg å ta på meg håndjern, gjorde jeg det.

When the leather bear told me to put on handcuffs, I did it.

I

Trondheim ligger i Norge.

Trondheim is in Norway.

Nidarosdomen er i Trondheim.

The Nidaros Cathedral is in Trondheim.

Jack vokste opp i Irland.

Jack grew up in Ireland.

Jeg vil gjerne campe i sommer.

I would like to go camping this summer.

Maria var syk i tre dager.

Maria was sick for three days.

Gustav har vært her i 30 minutter.

Gustav has been here for 30 minutes.

Emilie besøker familien sin i to uker.

Emilie will visit her family for two weeks.

Vennen min skal besøke meg i to uker.

My friend will visit me for two weeks.

Katten ligger i sekken.

The cat is in the bag.

Har du vondt i hodet ditt?

Do you have a pain in your head?

Note that for things that happen repeatedly, then “om” is used instead.

Eksempel

English

Jeg svømmer om sommeren.

I go swimming every summer.

Lukas drikker kaffe om morgenen.

Lukas drinks coffee every morning.

As I mentioned, there are some exceptions, so here’s just a few:

Eksempel English

Sofia jobber i banken.

Sofia works at the bank.

Paret giftet seg i kirken / moskeen / tempelet.

The couple got married in the church / mosque / temple.

Rooms inside a home can be very confusing, when it comes to knowing which preposition to use. There’s not really any rhyme or reason; you just have to memorize them. Here’s a list to help you out.

Eksempel

English

På

På badet

In the bathroom

På loftet

In the attic

På kjøkkenet

In the kitchen

På vaskerommet

In the laundry room

På kontoret

In the office

På verandaen / balkongen

On the veranda / balcony

I

I huset

In the house

I kjelleren

In the basement

I entreen

In the entry

I dusjen

In the shower

I hallen

In the hall

I garasjen

In the garage

På / i

På / i stua

In the living room

På / i soverommet

In the bedroom

På / i gangen

In the hallway

There are a few idiomatic phrases, that contain prepositions, which may be useful to learn:

Phrase English Eksempel English

Setter pris på

Appreciate

Jeg setter pris på din støtte.

I appreciate your support.

På lenge

In a long time

Han har ikke sett moren sin på lenge.

He hasn’t seen his mom in a long time.

Ha lyst på

Want; would like

Lars har lyst på en kopp te.

Lars wants a cup of tea.

Passe på

To look after

Kan du passe på katten min i morgen?

Can you look after my cat tomorrow?

Være glad i

To be fond of; love

Han er glad i vennen sin.

He is fond of / loves his friend.

Sette i gang

To get started

De satte i gang med prosjektet.

They got started on the project.

Ha rett i at / det

To be right (in that / about)

Han har rett i at rapporten var unøyaktig.

He was right in that the report was inaccurate.

Hos

In most cases, there is no direct translation of “hos” to an English equivalent. It may be compared to the German “bei” and French “chez.” It is used for people in the role of friends, hosts, shopkeepers, etc.

Eksempel English

Karine bor hos søsteren sin.

Karine lives with her sister.

Vi har forbud mot å banne hos oss.

We’re forbidden to swear at our place.

Liam er hos legen.

Liam is at the (place of the) doctor’s.

Gjestene er hos oss

The guests are at our house.

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Resources:

Exercise: For, til, i, på, eller hos

Copy / Paste in a new document. Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition.

  1. Liam spiste middag ___ Isabella.

  2. Markus bodde her ___ tre år.

  3. Datteren laget middag ___ moren sin.

  4. Advarselen sier: “Dette spillet er ikke ___ barn.”

  5. Den unge mannen jobbet ___ fabrikken ___ fem år.

  6. Kan du lage kopier ___ meg?

  7. Erik dro ___ tannlegen.

  8. Marius er ___ tannlegen.

  9. Emil snakket med vennen sin ___ to timer.

  10. Alexander solgte bilen sin ___ 56.000 kr.

  11. Kattetårnet er ___ soverommet.

  12. Bjørn trenger en ny hammer ___ projektoren.

  13. Tantens eiendeler er ___ loftet.

  14. Syklene oppbevares ___ kjelleren.

  15. Den hjemløse mannen tilbød seg å jobbe ___ mat.

  16. ___ å kjøpe billetter ___ konserten jobbet Marianne ekstra timer.