When learning about verbs in Norwegian, often you will come across the words “transitive” and “intransitive.” I thought it would be a good idea to explain these concepts.
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 |
Lukas ventet på vennene sine etter skoletid. |
Lukas waited for his friends after school. |
Tiril satt barnevakt for broren sin mens foreldrene deres jobbet. |
Tiril babysat her brother while their parents worked. |
|
V2 |
Etter skoletid ventet Lukas på vennene sine. |
After school, Lukas waited for his friends. |
Mens foreldrene deres jobbet, satt Tiril barnevakt for broren sin. |
While their parents worked, Tiril babysat her brother. |
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 |
Faren min liker å jakte om vinteren. |
My father likes to hunt in the winter. |
Elias prøvde å lage et armbånd etter at han så på en instruksjonsvideo. |
Elias tried to make a bracelet after he watched a tutorial. |
|
V2 |
Om vinteren liker faren min å jakte. |
In the winter, my father likes to hunt. |
Etter at Elias så på en instruksjonsvideo, prøvde han å lage et armbånd. |
After Elias watched a tutorial, he tried to make a bracelet. |
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 rope |
roper |
Yells / Yelling |
Å bygge |
bygger |
Builds / Building |
Å vinne |
vinner |
Wins / Winning |
Å tape |
taper |
Loses / Losing |
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).
-
If the verb ends with a double consonant, consonant cluster, or voiced plosive (b / d), past tense will end in -et.
-
If the verb ends in a single consonant (except v / b / d), past tense ends in -te.
-
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 sparke |
Sparket |
Kicked |
Å fikse |
Fikset |
Fixed |
|
2 |
Å svare |
Svarte |
Answered |
Å besøke |
Besøkte |
Visited |
|
3 |
Å trave |
travde |
Trotted |
Å feie |
feide |
Swept |
|
4 |
Å ha |
hadde |
Had |
Å snu |
snudde |
Flipped |
For future tense, often the present tense verb is used with a time adverbial to clarify it is a future action. (Note: There are ways to form future sentences using modals; that is covered in a more in-depth lesson).
| Eksempel | English |
|---|---|
Henrik drar til Trondheim neste uke. |
Henrik is going to Trondheim next week. |
Jeg tar oppvasken senere i kveld. |
I’ll wash the dishes later tonight. |
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 rask bil |
A fast car |
Raske biler |
Fast cars |
En falsk lisens |
A fake license |
Falske lisenser |
Fake licenses |
|
Feminine |
Ei rask bie |
A fast bee |
Raske bier |
Fast bees |
Ei falsk melding |
A fake message |
Falske meldinger |
Fake messages |
|
Neuter |
Et raskt barn |
A fast child |
Raske barn |
Fast children |
Et falskt bilde |
A fake picture |
Faske bilder |
Fake pictures |
|
When the noun is in the definite form, the adjective takes an -e ending.
| Singular Definite | Plural Definite | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Norwegian |
English |
Norwegian |
English |
|
Masculine |
Den raske bilen |
The fast car |
De raske bilene |
The fast cars |
Denne falske lisensen |
This fake license |
Disse falske lisensene |
These fake licenses |
|
Feminine |
Den raske bia |
The fast bee |
De raske biene |
The fast bees |
Denne falske meldinga |
This fake message |
Disse falske meldingene |
These fake messages |
|
Neuter |
Det raske barnet |
The fast child |
De raske barna / barnene |
The fast children |
Dette falske bildet |
This fake picture |
Disse falske bilda / bildene |
These fake pictures |
|
Transitive, Intransitive, Etc.
Some verbs require a direct object while others do not. Sometimes they differ from how the verbs are used in English.
Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs have a direct object (that is, the person or object receiving the action).
Norwegian Sentence |
Transitive Verb |
Direct Object |
English Translation |
Nils malte portrettet. |
malte |
portrettet |
Nils painted the portrait. |
Synnøve ringte moren sin. |
ringte |
Moren sin |
Synnøve called her mother. |
NOTE: Some transitive verbs can be used intransitively (i.e. that is, without a direct object). In these cases, the direct object is implied though not stated.
Norwegian Sentence |
Transitive Verb |
(Implied Direct Object) |
English Translation |
Vi spiser kl.18. |
spiser |
mat |
We eat at 6pm. |
Gustav kjører på jobb. |
kjører |
bilen sin |
Gustav drives to work. |
Some additional examples of “latent” transitive verbs:
Å drikke |
To drink |
Å hjelpe |
To help |
Å tape |
To lose |
Å vinne |
To win |
There are some verbs that do not need a direct object in English however they must contain a direct object in Norwegian.
Norwegian Sentence |
Transitive Verb |
Direct Object |
English Translation |
Jeg forlot huset tidlig. |
forlot |
huset |
I left (the house) early. |
De kysset hverandre. |
kysset |
hverandre |
They kissed (each other). |
As you can see in the English translations of the above sentences, you could omit the parts in parenthesis and the sentence would still be correct.
Ditransitive Verbs
Ditransitive verbs have both a direct object and an indirect object (that is, it refers to a person or thing that is affected by the action but is not the recipient).
Norwegian Sentence |
Ditransitive Verb |
Indirect Object |
Direct Object |
English Translation |
Pia gav Emil en gave. |
gav |
Emil |
gave |
Pia gave Emil a gift. |
Fanny fortalte Lars en hemmelighet. |
fortalte |
Lars |
hemmelighet |
Fanny told Lars a secret. |
Some additional examples of ditransitive verbs:
Å love |
To promise |
Å låne |
To lend |
Å sende |
To send |
Å misunne |
To envy |
Å si |
To say |
Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs do not have a direct object.
Norwegian Sentence |
Intransitive Verb |
English Translation |
Hunden sover. |
sover |
The dog is sleeping. |
Faren hans døde i går. |
døde |
His father died yesterday. |
Some additional examples of intransitive verbs:
Å gråte |
To weep |
Å fryse |
To be cold / freeze |
Å lyve |
To (tell a) lie |
There are some transitive and intransitive verbs that exist in pairs, that have related meanings. Here’s some examples; notice that some might be spelled the same in present tense but not in past or perfect tenses.
Infinitive |
English |
Present |
Past |
Perfect |
Eksempel |
English |
|
Transitive |
Å legge |
To lay; to put |
legger |
la |
lagt |
Han la boka på bordet. |
He put the book on the table. |
Intransitive |
Å ligge |
To lie |
ligger |
lå |
ligget |
Han lå hele dagen. |
He lied (in bed) all day. |
Transitive |
Å sette |
To set; to place, to put |
setter |
satte |
satt |
Hun satte koppen på bordet. |
She put the cup on the table. |
Intransitive |
Å sitte |
To sit |
sitter |
satt |
sittet |
Jeg satt på kontoret i en time. |
I sat in the office for an hour. |
Transitive |
Å henge |
To hang up |
henger |
hengte |
hengt |
Han hengte jakken sin i skapet. |
He hung his jacket up in the closet. |
Intransitive |
Å henge |
To hang |
henger |
hang |
hengt |
Jakken hans hang i skapet. |
His jacket was hanging in the closet. |
Transitive |
Å rekke |
To reach, to pass |
rekker |
rakte |
rakt |
Han rakte meg hånden sin. |
He offered me his hand. |
Intransitive |
Å rekke |
To reach |
rekker |
rakk |
rukket |
Juletreet rakk helt i taket. |
The Christmas tree reached all the way to the ceiling. |
As you can see, whether a verb is transitive or intransitive can change how it is conjugated, particularly in the past tense.
Copulas
Another term you might come across is “copula.” These are “empty verbs” that need a subject complement (usually an adjective or noun), instead of an object. The most common copulas are “bli” and “være.” Copulas usually indicate either the state of something or imply change.
Norwegian Sentence |
Copula |
Subject Complement |
English translation |
Erik ble ingeniør. |
ble |
ingeniør |
Erik became an engineer. |
De er veldig søte. |
er |
søte |
They are very sweet / cute. |
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Sources:
Exercise: Write 5 sentences; indicate if the verb is transitive / intransitive / etc.