When learning Norwegian, one will come across verbs that can sometimes be difficult for new learners to understand how and when they are used. Often in these cases, the verbs might translate into the same English word, but cannot be used interchangeably in Norwegian. Let’s look at some examples.
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 |
Marianne vasket hunden i går. |
Marianne washed the dog yesterday. |
Bjørn møtte vennen sin da han besøkte Oslo. |
Bjørn met his friend when he visited Oslo. |
|
V2 |
I går vasket Marianne hunden. |
Yesterday, Marianne washed the dog. |
Da Bjørn besøkte Oslo, møtte han vennen sin. |
When Bjørn visited Oslo, he met his friend. |
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 |
Markus prøvde å tegne en dinosaur i går. |
Markus tried to draw a dinosaur yesterday. |
Emma pleide å løpe 5km hver dag, da hun var yngre. |
Emma used to run 5 km every day, when she was younger. |
|
V2 |
I går prøvde Markus å tegne en dinosaur. |
Yesterday, Markus tried to draw a dinosaur. |
Da Emma var yngre, pleide hun å løpe 5km hver dag. |
When Emma was younger, she used to run 5 km every day. |
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 besøke |
besøker |
Visits / Visiting |
Å svømme |
svømmer |
Swims / Swimming |
Å kjøre |
kjører |
Drives / Driving |
Å begynne |
begynner |
Begins / beginning |
Past tense conjugation is a bit more difficult, however there are some guidelines (but keep in mind there are exceptions).
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If the verb ends with a double consonant, consonant cluster, or voiced plosive (b / d), past tense will end in -et.
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If the verb ends in a single consonant (except v / b / d), past tense ends in -te.
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If the verb ends with v or diphthong, the past tense ends in -de.
-
If the verb has only one syllable with a long vowel, past tense ends in -dde.
Rule Number |
Infinitive |
Past Tense |
English |
1 |
Å vaske |
vasket |
Washed |
Å tegne |
tegnet |
Drew |
|
2 |
Å besøke |
besøkte |
Visited |
Å kjøre |
kjørte |
Drove |
|
3 |
Å leve |
levde |
Lived |
Å veie |
veide |
Weighed |
|
4 |
Å bo |
bodde |
Lived |
Å sy |
sydde |
Sewed |
There are two ways to talk about future activities. Sometimes a present tense verb + a time adverbial is used. Another way to express future tense is with the use of modal verbs.
| Eksempel | English | |
|---|---|---|
Present Tense + Time Adverbial |
Karina spiser lunsj senere. |
Karina is eating lunch later. |
Modal Verbs |
Tobias skal kjøre til biblioteket. |
Tobias is going to drive to the library. |
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 stor hund |
A big dog |
Store hunder |
Big dogs |
En ny film |
A new film |
Nye filmer |
New films |
|
Feminine |
Ei stor bygning |
A big building |
Store bygninger |
Big buildings |
Ei ny jakke |
A new coat |
Nye jakker |
New coats |
|
Neuter |
Et stort dyr |
A big animal |
Store dyr |
Big animals |
Et nytt leketøy |
A new toy |
Nye leketøy |
New toys |
|
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 hunden |
The big dog |
De store hundene |
The big dogs |
Denne nye filmen |
This new film |
Disse nye filmene |
These new films |
|
Feminine |
Den store bygninga |
The big building |
De store bygningene |
The big buildings |
Denne nye jakka |
This new coat |
Disse nye jakkene |
These new coats |
|
Neuter |
Det store dyret |
The big animal |
De store dyra / dyrene |
The big animals |
Dette nye leketøyet |
This new toy |
Disse nye leketøya / leketøyene |
These new toys |
|
Å gjøre
Often translates as “to do” or sometimes as “to make” and is used in four ways.
1. The verbal echo - basically this is when it is used to “echo” a verb that was already used in the sentence.
| Norwegian | English |
|---|---|
Peter spiser ofte pizza, og det gjør jeg også. |
Peter often eats pizza, and so do I. |
Tobias kjøpte en ny bok, og det gjorde Sofia også. |
Tobias bought a new book, and so did Sofia. |
In these examples, you can see that “å gjøre” translates to “do” and it is referring back to “eating pizza” and “bought a new book.”
NOTE: If a modal verb is used in the first part of the sentence, “gjør” cannot be used. Instead, the modal verb must be used to “echo.”
Ex: De vil dra nå, og det gjør moren min også. - WRONG!
De vil dra nå, og det vil moren min også. - CORRECT!
They want to leave now, and my mom does also.
2. In conjunction with an adjective
| Norwegian | English |
|---|---|
Ole gjorde faren sin sint med løgnene sine. |
Ole made his father angry with his lies. |
Denne sangen gjør meg glad. |
This song makes me happy. |
3. Finding a solution
| Norwegian | English |
|---|---|
Hva gjør du når ryggen din klør og armene dine er for korte?! Jeg vet ikke hva jeg skal gjøre! |
What do you do when your behind itches and your arms are too short?! I don’t know what to do! |
Hva skal vi gjøre med klimaendringene? |
What should we do about climate change? |
4. Job, occupation, or activity
| Norwegian | English |
|---|---|
Hva skal du gjøre i helga? |
What are you doing this weekend? |
Person 1: Hva gjør mora di? Person 2: Hun er (en) bibliotekar. |
Person 1: What does your mom do (for a job)? Person 2: She is a librarian. |
NOTE: There are some fixed phrases that use “gjør.”
| Norwegian | English | Eksempel | English |
|---|---|---|---|
Å gjøre en forskjell |
To make a difference |
Hvis du vil gjøre en forskjell, bør du resirkulere. |
If you want to make a difference, you should recycle. |
Å gjøre motstand |
To resist / oppose |
De gjør motstand mot disse undertrykkende lovene. |
They oppose these oppressive laws. |
Å gjøre narr av |
To make a fun of / make a fool of |
Presidenten gjør ofte narr av personalet sitt. |
The president often makes fun of his staff. |
Å gjøre skade |
To harm / damage |
Asteroiden vil gjør skade på planeten. |
The asteroid will do damage to the planet. |
Det gjør ikke noe |
It does not matter |
Det gjør ikke noe at du kommer sent. |
It doesn’t matter if you arrive late. |
Å lage
“Å lage” is used when referring to producing, making, or completing something.
| Norwegian | English |
|---|---|
Jeg lager middag hver dag. |
I make dinner every day. |
Barnet laget en kopp til foreldrene sine. |
The child made a cup for his parents. |
Unlike in English, though, “make” cannot be used in more abstract sentences, like we do in English.
Ex: å lage et unntak - WRONG!
å gjøre et unntak - CORRECT
To make an exception
Å Leke vs Å Spille
Both “å leke” and “å spille” mean “to play” (and both can be used as a noun to mean game: “lek” and “spill”). However they are not interchangeable.
Å leke - Used for unstructured playtime, for example playing on a playground or playing with lego. Additionally, there are some games that are unstructured but do have structured rules, that also use “å leke.” It’s also used in unstructured “acting” among children (i.e. make-believe; playing pretend).
*Å spille* - Used for structured play, usually with a set of rules in place, such as ball games, board games, video games, etc. “Å spille” is also used for playing musical instruments and for acting in tv / movies / plays. (*Helpful Hint:* “Spille” is ”Structured.”)
| Usage | Eksempel | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
Å leke |
Unstructured playtime |
Barna leker utenfor. |
The children are playing outside. |
Moren sa til barna at de skulle leke i parken. |
The mother told the children to play at the park. |
||
Anna og Oskar lekte superhelter. |
Anna and Oskar played superheroes. |
||
Vi lekte sisten da vi var unge. |
We played tag when we were young. |
||
Å spille |
Structured play |
Tobias spiller en munnharpe. |
Tobias plays a mouth harp. |
Markus og Isabella spiller sjakk sammen. |
Markus and Isabella play / are playing chess together. |
||
Mads Mikkelsen spilte regnskapsfører i Rihannas musikkvideo. |
Mads Mikkelsen played the accountant in Rihanna’s music video. |
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References:
Exercise 1: Fill in the blank answer key (be sure to conjugate the verbs).
COPY & PASTE into a separate document.
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Liker du å _____ kortspill?
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Kattene mine liker å _____ med strengen.
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Sønnen min _____ en keramiskvase i kunstklasse.
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Hva _____ du i helgen?
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Jeg _____ et kort til vennen min.
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Filmen _____ meg trist.
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Emil og Karina _____ gjemsel sammen.
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Jacob håper at han kan _____ en forskjell i selskapet.
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Han _____ fiolin veldig bra.
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Piratene _____ et kart av den begravde skatten.
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Clara sykler ofte til jobb og det _____ Sofia også.
Exercise 2: Write 5 sentences using the verbs in today’s lesson