Norwegian grammar.

book Page 1 Friday, March 9, 2007 9:51 AM

Cathrine Rysst and Daren Sylvester

Norwegian Grammar Dictionary

Norwegian grammar.book Page 5 Friday, March 9, 2007 9:51 AM

Contents
Understanding the format of this book 6
Key to Phonemic Script (Pronunciation) 7
Dictionary 9
Appendix 1 – Prepositions of Time 203
Appendix 2 – Pronouns 205
Appendix 3 – Passive Voice 207
Appendix 4 – Modal Verbs 209
Appendix 5 – s-Verbs 212
Appendix 6 – Some Useful Abbreviations 213
Appendix 7 – Ordinals 216
Appendix 8 – Verb Conjugations 218
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begge / Ïadf?/ pron. Used to mean both when

talking about two different
things.
both (of them)

Antonyms: ingen

Key Construction

Grammar Rule Example of Grammar Rule

1. begge + (noun) begge kjønn
De har ansatte av begge kjønn. – They have employees of both sexes.
2. begge + (noun) begge gangene
Faren betalte begge gangene. – The father paid both times.
3. begge + deler begge deler
Kaffe og kake? – Ja, takk, begge deler. – Coffee and cake? Yes, please.
Both.
4. begge + to begge to
Jeg kjenner begge to. Mannen og konen. – I know them both. The husband
and the wife.

Notes
1. begge can be used together with a plural noun, and in both the indefinite and definite
forms (see Examples 1 and 2).
2. begge deler is generally used for two objects in the indefinite form (see Example 3).
3. begge to is used for two somewhat related objects in the definite form, or for people/
proper names (see Example 4).

Idioms
Å lande på begge bena – To land on two feet
Å spise med begge hendene – To eat with both hands (be very hungry)
Å være i begges interesse – To be in the interest of both parties

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b
! Be Careful ! Do not confuse with både-og (see own entry). This also means ‘both’,
but is always used with the word ‘og’ (and). Både and og always appear together and
require at least two objects mentioned:
Jeg betalte både husleien og telefonregningen. – I paid both the rent and the phone
bill.
Jeg betalte begge (to). – I paid both.
både is never a sufficient answer alone (without the word og), whereas begge (to/deler)
can stand alone:
Snakker du tysk eller fransk? Begge deler. – Do you speak German or French? Both.
If there are more than two objects, begge cannot be used.
begge to cannot be followed by a noun:
Incorrect: Jeg har sett begge to programmene.
Correct: Jeg har sett begge programmene. – I have seen both programmes.

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etterpå / ds?qon9/
Ï adv. Used to describe something
that happened after some-
thing initial, or will happen
afterwards, later, then after what now is going on. e

Synonyms: deretter

Key Construction
Hva skal dere gjøre etterpå?
What are you doing later?

Examples
1. Du er snart ferdig med studiene. Hva skal du gjøre etterpå? – You have almost fin-
ished your studies. What are you going to do afterwards?
2. Hva skjedde etterpå? – What happened then?
3. Det må ordens nå, ikke etterpå. – It has to be fixed now, not afterwards.
4. Kan det vente til etterpå? – Can it wait until later?
5. Les boken, og etterpå vil du forstå alt. – Read the book, and then you’ll understand
everything.

Notes
1. etterpå can be used with past, present and future tenses.

Idioms
Å være etterpåklok – To have hindsight

! Be Careful ! etterpå cannot be followed by an object:

Incorrect: Vi ser på TV etterpå middag.
Correct: Vi ser på TV etter middag.
– We watch TV after dinner.

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gjelde /idk?/ v. Used to apply boundaries or

limits to something, or to
attach circumstances to
(gjelder-gjaldt-gjeldt) something.

be valid, count, apply to,

regard, concern
g
Synonyms: dreie seg om

Key Construction
De samme reglene gjelder for alle.
The same rules apply to everyone.

Examples
1. I den situasjonen gjaldt det å holde hodet kaldt. – In (regards to) that situation it was
all about staying calm.
2. Førerkortet ditt gjelder ikke lenger. – Your driving licence is no longer valid.
3. Det samme gjelder for deg, unge dame! – The same goes for you, young lady!
4. Kollektivfeltet gjelder for buss og taxi. – The bus lane is for buses and taxis exclusively.

Notes
1. Often seen are the forms å være gyldig and å gjøre seg gjeldende. These are adjec-
tives and participles sometimes more often used than the verb itself:
Førerkortet ditt er ikke gyldig lenger. – Your driving licence is no longer valid (see
how this differs from Example 2 above).
Jensen gjorde seg gjeldende som megler under konflikten. – Mr. Jensen stood
out (was regarded) as a good mediator during the conflict.
2. For a formal conversation, especially phone conversation, it is most common to use
gjelder idiomatically when addressing the matter:
Goddag, mitt navn er Eva Hansen. Det gjelder min siste strømregning. – Hello,
my name is Eva Hansen. I’m calling about (in regards to) my last electricity bill.

Idioms
Det er nå det gjelder! – Now is the time!
Det gjelder liv eller død! – It’s a matter of life and death!
Til gjengjeld – In compensation/in return
Hva gjelder det denne gangen? – How can I help you this time?

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igjen /h9!idm/ adv. Meaning again, but also

used for remaining, as in left
over. Can also be used for
again, remaining, left the English noun change, as
in money received back
Synonyms: til overs, after paying for something.
å være lukket, tilbake

Key Construction
i Henrik betalte ett hundre kroner og fikk femti kroner igjen.
Henrik paid one hundred kroner and received fifty kroner in change (back).

Examples
1. Det er bare tre billetter igjen. – There are only three tickets left.
2. Når kommer du igjen? – When will you come again?
3. Han ser filmen igjen og igjen. – He watches the movie over and over (again).
4. Er det langt igjen? – Is it far to go (as in remaining time or distance)?
5. Når sees vi igjen? – When will we meet again?

Notes
1. å ta igjen – to catch up:
Jeg har mye å ta igjen. – I have much to catch up with.
2. å gi igjen – to give change:
Kan du gi igjen på fem hundre kroner? – Can you give change for five hundred
kroner?
3. å lukke igjen – to shut or close:
Lars lukket igjen vinduet. – Lars shut the window.
4. å kjenne igjen – to recognise:
Jeg kjente deg nesten ikke igjen. – I hardly recognised you.
5. å bli igjen – to stay behind:
Vi gikk fra festen, mens Grete ble igjen. – We left the party, while Grete stayed
behind.

Idioms
Ikke nå igjen! – Not again!
Om igjen – Once more, once again
Kom igjen! – Come on!

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ingen / ÏhM?m/ pron. Denotes an absolute zero of

objects, tangible or intangi-
(intet, ingen) ble. An indefinite pronoun
which is conjugated accord-
nobody, no, no one, none, ing to the noun it modifies.
anybody, not any

Synonyms: ikke noe, ikke noen

Antonyms: noen, alle

i
Key Construction
Jeg kjenner ingen her.
I don’t know anybody here.

Examples
1. Jeg har ingen erfaring med dette. – I have no experience with this.
2. Hvorfor har ingen fortalt meg om dette? – Why has no one told me about this?
3. Hvor mange biler er det i parkeringshuset? Det er ingen. – How many cars are in the
parking garage? There are none.

Notes
1. When ingen is used about people in singular or plural, the pronoun itself can be left
out and becomes implicit (see Key Construction).
2. The neuter form of this word is intet, which often remains unknown to students. It
may sound a bit formal and is often replaced by ‘ikke noe’ or ‘ingenting’. As the sub-
ject of a clause these are interchangeable. Be aware that there is no such form as
‘inget’. intet is furthermore often followed by an adjective, making a noun construc-
tion:
Intet vesentlig – nothing of importance

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Key Construction
Gender Grammar Rule Example of Grammar Rule
masc. ingen + (noun) ingen jobb
Hun har ingen jobb for tiden. – She has no job for the time being.
fem. ingen + (noun) ingen avis
Det er ingen avis i Norge jeg liker. – There’s no newspaper in Norway that
I like.
neut. intet + (noun) intet problem
i
Det er intet problem*. – That’s not a problem.
pl. ingen + (noun) ingen planer
Vi har ingen planer for helgen. – We have no plans for the weekend.

* Especially in the neuter form this pronoun is commonly replaced by ‘ikke noe’ (‘ikke noen’ can
be used for masculine, feminine and plural forms).

Idioms
Ingen vet hva fremtiden bringer. – No one knows what the future holds.
Ingen ringere enn … – No one but …/ the one and only
Jeg har ingen anelse – I have no idea
Det er ingen sak/kunst å … – It doesn’t take an expert to …
På ingen måte! – Not at all!

! Be Careful ! If the phrase has a negative, one must use ‘ikke noe(n)’:
Incorrect: Jeg har sett ingen / Jeg har ikke sett ingen.
Correct: Jeg har ikke sett noen.
– I haven’t seen anybody.
Also, ingen cannot stand alone after a preposition.

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liten / Ïkh9s?m/ adj. Used to describe the size or

extent of something.
(mindre, minst)

(lita, lite, lille, små)

little, small

Antonyms: stor

Indefinite Form Key Construction

Gender Grammar Rule Example of Grammar Rule
masc. en liten + (noun) en liten stol

l Det står en liten stol i hjørnet. – There is a small chair in the corner.
fem. ei lita + (noun) ei lita seng
Hun sover i ei lita seng. – She sleeps in a small bed.
neut. et lite + (noun) et lite skap
Vi har et lite skap på badet. – We have a little cabinet in the bathroom.
pl. små + (noun) små puter
Sofaen har små puter. – The sofa has small cushions.

Definite Form Key Construction

Gender Grammar Rule Example of Grammar Rule
masc. den lille + (noun) den lille stolen
Den lille stolen er grønn. – The little chair is green.
fem. den lille + (noun) den lille senga
Den lille senga er hvit. – The little bed is white.
neut. det lille + (noun) det lille skapet
Det lille skapet er rødt. – The little cabinet is red.
pl. de små + (noun) de små putene
De små putene er gule. – The small cushions are yellow.

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Notes
1. liten is an irregular adjective whose conjugation needs to be studied and memorised.
2. The forms mindre and minst are used for comparison:
Hans land er lite, hennes land er mindre, og mitt land er minst/det minste. – His
country is small, her country is smaller, and my country is smallest/the smallest.
3. lite can be used as a noun-expression:
Jeg husker lite av det som skjedde. – I remember little of what happened.

Idioms
Bitte liten – Tiny
Lite grann – A little bit
Da jeg var liten … – As a child …
Å gjøre lite av seg – To stay in the background
Hun er lite pen – She is not very beautiful
Lille venn – Dear/sweetheart
For både store og små – For adults as well as children
Til langt ut i de små timer – Until the break of day l
Det går smått – Progress is slow

! Be Careful ! Do not confuse with litt, which means ‘a little’, as in amount (see own
entry).

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