Summer in Norway

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

Markus jobbet i hagen i går.

Markus worked in the garden yesterday.

Sofia svømte i havet da hun var ung.

Sofia swam in the ocean when she was young.

V2

I går jobbet Markus i hagen.

Yesterday, Markus worked in the garden.

Da Sofia var ung, svømte hun i havet.

When Sofia was young, she swam in the ocean.

Verb Conjugation

Conjugating 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 svømme

Svømmer

Swim(s)

Å sykle

Sykler

Bike(s)

Å seile

Seiler

Sail(s)

Å fiske

Fisker

Fish(es)

There are some exceptions / irregulars:

Infinitive

Present

English

Infinitive

Present

English

Å kunne

Kan

To be able to

Å måtte

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 snakke

Snakket

Talked

Å ønske

Ønsket

Wished

2

Å lære

Lærte

Learned

Å kjøpe

Kjøpte

Bought

3

Å leve

Levde

Lived

Å pleie

Pleide

Used

4

Å bo

Bodde

Lived

For future tense, typically the present tense verb is used with a time adverbial to clarify it is a future action.

Eksempel

English

De drar hjem på søndag.

They are going home on Sunday.

Festivalen er neste helg.

The festival is next weekend.

Adjective Basics

Adjectives typically have to agree with the gender and the number of the noun.

Singular Indefinite Plural Indefinite

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Masculine

En stor festival

A big festival

Store festivaler

Big festivals

En tom kopp

An empty cup

Tomme kopper

Empty cups

Feminine

Ei stor bok

A big book

Store bøker

Big books

Ei tom bokhylle

An empty bookshelf

Tomme bokhyller

Empty bookshelves

Neuter

Et stort bål

A big bonfire

Store bål

Big bonfires

Et tomt hus

An empty house

Tomme hus

Empty houses

When the noun is in the definite form, the adjective takes an -e ending (like in the plural indefinite above).

Singular Definite Plural Definite

Norwegian

English

Norwegian

English

Masculine

Den store festivalen

The big festival

De store festivalene

The big festivals

Denne tomme koppen

This empty cup

Disse tomme koppene

These empty cups

Feminine

Den store boka

The big book

De store bøkene

The big books

Denne tomme bokhylla

This empty bookshelf

Disse tomme bokhyllene

These empty bookshelves

Neuter

Det store bålet

The big bonfire

De store bålene

The big bonfires

Dette tomme huset

This empty house

Disse tomme husene

These empty houses

Summer in Norway

Summertime is a great time to be in Norway. Temperatures in Norway typically do not get above the 80s F (27 C), (however, lately Norway has been experiencing higher-than-normal temperatures in the summer). If you are in Norway in August, be prepared for plenty of rain. If you travel above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set during the summer months. This phenomenon is called the midnight sun.

On 23 June, many Norwegians celebrate Sankthansaften (Midsummer Eve aka St John’s Eve). Many attend parties with big bonfires (sankthansbål), along the coast and up in the mountains. Some Norwegians will burn an effigy of a witch on the bonfire (this originated from German traditions).

With the long coastline and the beautiful mountains, summer is the perfect time for swimming, fishing, boating, hiking, and camping. Some Norwegians travel to “sommerbyer” (summer cities) along the coast. These places are made up of white wooden houses along the narrow streets.

For thrill seekers, there are a number of amusement parks in Norway, including Tusenfryd in Oslo and a water park called Bø Sommarland in Telemark. The entrance to Tusenfryd is reached via an escalator that goes through one of the loops of Speed Monster, one of Tusenfryd’s six coasters. The park also has a VR roller coaster called Steampunk Hunters, as well as what is considered possibly the world’s smallest roller coaster, at only 2.5 meters (8 ft) tall.

For music lovers, there are many music festivals that happen during the summer months. One of the biggest music festivals is the Øya Festival which takes place every August in Oslo and features indie, hip-hop, and electronic music. The Slottsfjell Festival focuses on pop and rock music and is held among the ruins of a medieval fortress in Tønsberg. The Bukta open air music festival is a 3 day event taking place every summer in Tromsø, featuring numerous rock artists. There are many other music festivals in Norway, focusing on different genres of music, such as jazz, blues, and contemporary music.

Summer Vocab

English Norsk English Norsk

Amusement park

Fornøyelsespark (en)

August

August

Beach

Strand (en)

Beach ball

Badeball (en)

Blueberry

Blåbær (et)

Bonfire

Bål (et)

Campfire

(Leir)Bål (et)

Campground

Campingplass (en)

Canoe

Kano (en)

Cherry

Kirsebær (et)

Fan

Vifte (en)

Festival

Festival (en)

Flip-flops

Flipflopper / Slipper

Flower

Blomst (en)

Forest

Skog (en)

Garden

Hage (en)

Heat

Varme

Hot

Varm(t)

Holiday / Vacation

Ferie

Humidity

Luftfuktighet (en)

Ice cream

Is(krem)

July

Juli

June

Juni

Lawnmower

Gressklipper (en)

Lightning

Lyn

Lightning bug / Firefly

Ildflue (et)

Marshmallow

Marshmallow (en)

Ocean

Hav (et)

Outdoors

Utendørs

Outside

Utenfor

Parasol

Parasoll

Park

Park (en)

Picnic

Piknik (en)

Road trip

Bilferie (en)

Roller coaster

Berg-og-dal-bane (en)

Rose

Rose (en)

Sailboat

Seilbåt (en)

Sand

Sand

Sandals

Sandaler

Sandcastle

Sandslott (et)

Shorts

Shorts (en)

Sleeping bag

Sovepose

Strawberry

Jordbær (et)

Summer

Sommer

Sunburn

Solbrenthet

Sunflower

Solsikke

Sunglasses

Solbriller

Sunscreen

Solkrem

Sunshine

Solskinn

Suntan

Solbrun

Swimsuit / Bathing suit

Badedrakt (ei)

Swimming trunks

Badebukse (ei)

Tent

Telt (et)

T-shirt

T-skjorte (ei)

Thunder

Torden

Thunderstorm

Tordenvær

Undertow / Undercurrent

Understrøm (en)

Watermelon

Vannmelon (en)

Wave

Bølge (en)

“Outdoor beer” -

A beer one takes outside to drink, when the weather is finally warm enough.

Utepils

“One time grill” -

_ A small disposable grill one can carry with them to use at the park or wherever._

Engangsgrill (en)

Verbs:

English

Norsk

English

Norsk

To bike

Å sykle

To build a sandcastle

Å bygge et sandslott.

To camp

Å campe

To fish

Å fiske

To garden

Å jobbe i hagen

To grill

Å grille

To mow the lawn

Å klippe plenen

To relax

Å slappe av

To sail (boat)

Å seile

To swim

Å svømme

To travel

Å reise

To visit

Å besøke

NOTE: In English, if one is good at growing plants and such, they are said to have a “green thumb.” In Norwegian, one has “grønne fingre” (green fingers).

Here are a few helpful phrases to know and use during summer:

Eksempel

English

Slikke sol

To soak up the sun

Sola skinner

The sun is shining.

Jeg svetter som en gris.

I’m sweating like a pig.

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Resources:

Exercise: Write a paragraph about what you did this summer.