To have, to be

   |  Dan

This lesson goes over some verbs that Norwegian learners struggle with, specifically, “å ha,” “å få,” “å være,” and “å bli.”

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 konkurrerte i turneringen forrige uke.

Ella competed in the tournament last week.

Markus besøkte museet da han var i D.C.

Markus visited the museum when he was in D.C.

V2

Forrige uke konkurrerte Ella i turneringen.

Last week, Ella competed in the tournament.

Da Markus var i D.C., besøkte han museet.

When Markus was in D.C., he visited the museum.

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

Christian prøvde å reparere bilen i går.

Christian tried to repair the car yesterday.

Marie pleide å spille i et band da hun var i 20-årene.

Marie used to play in a band when she was in her 20s.

V2

I går prøvde Christian å reparere bilen

Yesterday, Christian tried to repair the car.

Da Marie var i 20-årene, pleide hun å spille i et band.

When Marie was in her 20s, she used to play in a band.

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 stave

staver

Spells / Spelling

Å fortsette

fortsetter

Continues / Continuing

Å kaste

kaster

Throws / Throwing

Å støtte

støtter

Supports / Supporting

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 støtte

støttet

Supported

Å stave

stavet

Spelled

2

Å bruke

Brukte

Used

Å male

Malte

Painted

3

Å leve

levde

Lived

Å greie

greide

Managed

4

Å kna

knadde

Kneaded

Å spy

spydde

Spewed

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

Moren min drar til butikken senere.

My mom is going to the shop later.

Modal Verbs

Jens skal spille det nye dataspillet.

Jens is going to play the new computer game.

To Have

In English, we often say “have” to refer to things we are receiving or obtaining, in addition to things that are already in our possession. For example, “Can I have some cake?” The cake is not in our possession, and “have” could be replaced with “receive.”

In Norwegian, these two concepts are separate.

Å ha

Used for:

  • Things that are (or were) in your possession

  • Physical traits one has

  • Experiences

  • Also in the present perfect and past perfect (aka pluperfect) tenses; in which case the verb following it is in the past participle form.

Eksempel English

Marianne har en blå sykkel.

Marianne has a blue bicycle.

Lukas hadde en hund da han var ung.

Lukas had a dog when he was young.

Sjefen har fregner.

The boss has freckles.

Gutten hadde en drøm om en drage.

The boy had a dream about a dragon.

De har ventet i 20 minutter.

They have waited for 20 minutes.

Franklyn har grønne øyne.

Franklyn has green eyes.

NOTE: In English, we often use “to have to” to mean “must.” In Norwegian, you cannot do this. In these cases, you’d use the modal verb “å måtte” instead.

Eksempel English

Han må arbeide.

He has to work. (He must work)

Hun må lytte til læreren sin.

She has to (must) listen to her teacher.

Å få

Usage:

  • As an adjective, it means “few”

  • As a verb, it means “to get,” “to receive,” “to obtain,” or “to have.”

  • It can act as a modal auxiliary verb in some sentences.

Eksempel English

Regular Verb

Erik får en ny sykkel til bursdagen sin.

Erik is getting a new bike for his birthday.

Emma fikk boka fra vennen sin.

Emma got the book from her friend.

Eg har ikkje fått eit brev frå Skatteetaten.

I have not gotten a letter from Skatteetaten.

Auxiliary Verb

Det får vente.

It has to wait.

Gustav fikk se den nye filmen forrige helg.

Gustav got to see the new film last weekend.

Kan jeg få være i fred?

Can I get some peace (and quiet)?

In the first set of examples, “å få” is conjugated like a normal verb when followed by a noun.
In the bottom set of examples, when “å få” is followed by another verb, it’s treated as a modal auxiliary, and the second verb remains in the infinitive without the infinitive (å) marker.

Sometimes å få can replace other auxiliary verbs (kan, skal, vil, etc).

Example

English

Vi får se.

We will see.

Hun får et barn snart.

She will have a child soon.

Å få can also…

  • Take on the meaning of “permission” or “to be allowed” to do something.

However, if the verb following “få” is a past participle, then

  • It takes on the meaning of “to achieve” or “to manage to do” something.

  • A past participle typically expresses that the past action was completed.

Meaning Example English

To be allowed

Får jeg bruke mobiltelefonen din?

May I use your cell phone?

Du får låne boken min.

You can borrow my book.

Får jeg lov til å forlate huset

Am i allowed to leave the house

To achieve

Jeg fikk funnet nålen i høystakken.

I managed to find the needle in the haystack.

Jeg fikk skrevet leksjonen i går.

I managed to write the lesson yesterday.

Han fikk gått 100 km på ski i dag.

He managed to ski 100 km today.

Jeg får til alt jeg prøver på.

I achieve everything I try to do.

There are a few fixed expressions that use “å få.”

Expresion English Example English

Få tak i

To get hold of

(used figuratively)

Jeg trenger å få tak i Emma.

I need to get a hold of Emma.

Få fatt i

To get a grip of
(used figuratively)

Du trenger å få fatt i Emma.

You need to get a hold of Emma.

Få det til

To achieve it

Hun ønsket å vinne løpet og hun fikk det til.

She wanted to win the race and she achieved it.

Få igjen

To catch / regain

Hun vil få igjen styrken sin.

She will get her strength back.

Practice: (Å ha eller å få)

Eksempel

English

Karine fekk kortet i posten.

Karine got the card in the mail.

Karine har kortet hengt opp.

Karine has the card hanging up.

Kan katten få godbiter?

Can the cat have treats?

Katten har ei rød sløyfe.

The cat has a red bowtie.

To Be

Å være refers to how something or someone is in a particular moment and is fixed in that moment, whereas å bli is used when there is change taking place.

Å bli

Å være

Continue to be

To be

Begin to be

To exist

Develop into

To stay, reside

Prove to be

To remain

Let’s look at a few examples of both verbs.

Example English

Å være

Sofie er 25 år gammel

Sofie is 25 years old.

Isak er brannmann.

Isak is a fireman.

Sofie og Isak er glade sammen.

Sofie and Isak are happy together.

Å bli

Sofie blir 26 i dag.

Sofie turns (becomes) 26 today.

Isak ble president.

Isak became president.

Sofie og Isak ble glade da de så valpen.

Sofie and Isak became happy when they saw the puppy.

Notice that in the first set of examples, the subjects are in that particular moment. In the second set of sentences, the subjects are changing (or have changed) in some manner.

Both verbs can be combined with auxiliary verbs

Example English

Å være

Du burde ha vært mer forsiktig.

You should have been more careful.

Emil kan være irriterende noen ganger.

Emil can be annoying sometimes.

Å bli

Du kunne ha blitt skadet.

You could have been (become) injured.

Emil kan bli frustrert noen ganger.

Emil can become frustrated sometimes.

Practice:

Eksempel English

Mathias er høy.

Mathias is tall.

Søsteren min ble sint etter at hun tapte spillet.

My sister became angry after she lost the game.

Servitøren ble flau etter at han sølte brus.

The waiter became embarrassed after he spilt the soda.

Faren min er advokat.

My father is a lawyer.

NOTE: There are two other words that are used in Norwegian that, in English, can be replaced with “to be.”

  • Ligge - Refers to where something is geographically located.

  • Koste - Refers to the cost of something.

Eksempel

English

Sverige ligger øst for Norge.

Sweden is (located) east of Norway.

Boka koster 30 kroner.

The book is (costs) 30 kroner.

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References:

Exercise: Write 6 sentences; use “å ha,” “å få,” “å være,” and “å bli”