Norwegian Grammar Reference Help Contents

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Verbs
Nouns
Articles
Adjectives
Adverbs
Pronouns
Prepositions
Conjunctions
Time & Numbers
Sentence Structure
Correspondence
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Verbs
Key Verbs
Basic Form & Present Tense
Past Tense
Irregular Verbs
Auxiliary Verbs
Passive Verbs
Verbs Ending in -s
Verbs Used in Other Ways

Key Verbs
English
to be
I am
you are (familiar sing.)
you are (polite sing.)
he is
she is
it is (common gender)
it is (neuter gender)
we are
you are (familiar pl.)
you are (polite pl.)
they are
English
to have
I have
you have (familiar sing.)
you have (polite sing.)
he has
she has
it has (common gender)
it has (neuter gender)
we have
you have (familiar pl.)
you have (polite pl.)
they have

Norwegian
vre
jeg er
du er
De er
han er
hun er
den er
det er
vi er
dere er
De er
de er
Norwegian
ha
jeg ha
du har
De har
han har
hun har
den har
det har
vi har
dere har
De har
de har

Basic Form & Present Tense

Norwegian verbs do not change with the person (e.g. I hear = jeg hrer or he hears = han hrer). The
majority of infinitive Norwegian verbs end with either an unstressed e or a stressed vowel. In both
cases, the present tense is formed by adding an r, for example:
English
Infinitive
to speak
to eat
to run
to use
to see
to sew

Infinitive
snakke
spise
lpe
bruke
se
sy

Norwegian
Present Tense
snakker
spiser
lper
bruker
ser
syr

A few verbs form the present tenses differently, for example:

to do
to know

gjre
vite

gjr
vet

Norwegian does not have the equivalent of the English -ing form. The Norwegian equivalent of the
English -ing is expressed in the same manner as the simple present.

Past Tense
Some Norwegian verbs are regular, which means that there is no change of the stem vowel. Irregular
Norwegian verbs change. Like English, Norwegian has a simple past tense (e.g. spoke), the perfect
tense (e.g. have spoken) and a pluperfect tense (e.g. had spoken). All formed in a manner similar to
English.
The perfect and the pluperfect tenses are comprised of the past participle (e.g. spoken) and the
appropriate tense of have, for example:

English
Norwegian

Infinite
have
ha

Present
have
har

Past
had
hadde

Perfect
have had
har hatt

Pluperfect
had had
hadde hatt

English
Norwegian

be
vre

am
er

was
var

have been
har vrt

had been
hadde vrt

To create the simple past tense of most regular Norwegian verbs, add ede to the stem of the verb. If
the infinitive of the verb has a double consonant before the final e, the past tense retains the double
consonant.
To create the past participle, add et to the stem of the verb. Retain the double consonant of the
infinitive if it has one, for example:

English
Norwegian

Infinitive
to kiss
kysse

Past
kissed
kysset

Perfect
have kissed
har kysset

English
Norwegian

to cough
hoste

coughed
hostet

have coughed
har hostet

A small group of Norwegian verbs add te to the stem to form the past tense and t to form the past
participle, for example:

English
Norwegian

Infinitive
to eat
spise

Past
eated
spiste

Perfect
have eaten
har spist

Irregular Verbs
English
ask
ask/pray
bring
come
count
do
follow
get
give
grease/butter
lay
lie
put/set
say
see/look
sell
sit
stay/become
take
walk/leave

Infinitive
sprre
be
bringe
komme
telle
gjre
flge
f
gi
smre
legge
ligge
sette
si
se
selge
sitte
bli
ta
g

Norwegian
Past
Perfect
spurte
har spurt
bad
har bedt
brakte
har brakt
kom
har/er kommet
telte
har telt
gjorde
har gjort
fulgte
har fulgt
fikk
har ftt
gav
har gitt
smurte har smurt
la
har lagt
l
har ligget
satte
har satt
sa
har sagt
s
har sett
solgte
har solgt
satt
har sittet
ble
har blitt
tok
har tatt
gikk
har gtt

Auxiliary Verbs
Shall, can, and will belong to the key group of verbs which are indispensable for use in conjunction
with other verbs. Like English, these Norwegian verbs have no command form but, unlike their English
counterparts (with the exception of dare), they do have an infinitive.
English
can/is able to
shall/is to/must
will/wants to
may/must
ought to
dare(s)

Norwegian
Infinitive
Present
kunne
kan
skulle
skal
ville
vil
mtte
m
burde
bor
tore
tr

Passive Verbs
When one uses a verb to describe an action one has accomplished, the verb is said to be "active."
When a verb is used to describe something done to one or to something, the verb is said to be
"passive." In Norwegian, the passive is created in one of two ways:
1 An s replaces the final r of the present tense or is added to the end of the past tense.
2 The copula bli + past participle also produces the passive voice.
Active
English
Norwegian
to treat
behandle
we treat we behandler
I treated jeg behandlet

Passive
English
Norwegian
to be treated
behandles/ bli behandlet
we are treated vi behandles/vi blir behandlet
I was treated
jeg behandles/jeg blir behandlet

Verbs ending in -s
Some verbs can have a "sense of each other" when used with the pasive s:
English
they see each other often
se you! (we will see each other)
they meet (each other)
the boys are fighting (each other)

Norwegian
de ses ofte
vi ses!
de mtes
guttene slss

Some verbs can have a special meaning with the passive s:

English
there are
it seems
I think/I am of the opinion that

Norwegian
det finnes
det synes
jeg synes

Verbs Used in Other Ways

Just as in English, some Norwegian verbs can be used to create an adjective. This can be
accomplished in one of two ways. The past participle is often used as an adjective:
English
a cleaned floor
a newly built farm
the painted wall
all whitewashed houses

Norwgian
et renset gulv
en nybygget grd
en malt vegg
alle hvitkalkete hus

In English, the -ing form of a verb is often used as an adjective or adverb. The Norwegian equivalent: is
created by adding -nde to the infinitive or -ende if the infinitive ends with a stressed vowel:
English
a dying man
a satisfying answer
She is a rising (coming) star
the existing rule
on my writing days
Is that a hardworking assistent?

Norwegian
en dende mann
et tilfredsstillende svar
Hun er en kommende stjerne
den eksisterende regel
p mine skrivende dager
Er det en hardtarbeidende assistent?

Nouns
Nouns & Articles
Plural Nouns

Nouns & Articles

Norwegian nouns can be masculine (en), feminine (ei/en) or neuter (et). The feminine ei is mostly
used in dialects. Most beings and occupations use the en (ei) form. Aside from this one generality,
there is no hard and fast rule by which one can determine the gender of a specific noun.
In the infinitive (a) form, en/ei and et precede the noun (e.g. a dog = en hund, a cow = ei ku, a woman
= en kvinne, a house = et hus). In the definitive (the) form, they are added to the end of the word (e.g.
the dog = hunden, the cow = kua, the woman = kvinnen, the house = huset). Note that the feminine
form can have either the a or (e)n ending.

Masculine
Feminine
Neuter

Norwegian
"a" form "the" form
en hund
hunden
en mann
mannen
ei jente
jenta
en kvinne kvinnen
et tre
treet
et hus
huset

English
dog
man
girl
woman
tree
house

If the noun ends with an unstressed e, the definitive form only adds the n or the t:
Mas./Fem.
Neuter

en kvinne
et teppe

kvinnen
teppet

woman
carpet

Nouns which end with a stressed e (those having only one syllable or an accent on the e to show
stress) take the full ending:
Mas./Fem.

en skje
en kaf

skjeen
kafen

spoon
caf

Plural Nouns
In both English and Norwegian, the plural is sometimes formed by simply changing the vowel of the
stem (man/men = mann/menn). The majority of Norwegian nouns add er for the indefinitive plural, or, if
they already end in a unstressed e, just r. In the definitive form, the ending is ne and ene is used, for
example:

English
Norwegian

Indefinitive
Singular
Plural
a flower
flowers
en blomst blomster

Definitive
Plural
these flowers
blomstene

English
Norwegian

a teacher
en lrer

these teachers
lrerne

teachers
lrere

Adjectives
Adjective Endings
Comparison of Adjectives

Adjective Endings
In Norwegian, adjectives change with the gender of the noun as well as the definitive (the), indefinitive
(a) and plural forms.
The "basic" form of a Norwegian adjective is unchaged when used with masculine or feminine nouns or
singular nouns in their indefinitive (a) form:
English
a sweet cake
a good woman
a large Welshman
an amusing anecdote
a red car

Norwegian
en st kake
en god kvinne
en stor waliser
en morsom anekdote
en rd bil

When adjectives are used to describe a singular neuter noun, they usually require the addition of a t:
English
a sweet smile
a good heart
a large meal
an amusing fairy tale
a red carpet

Norwegian
et stt smil
et godt hjerte
et stort mltid
et morsomt eventyr
et rdt teppe

In the indefinitive plural, most adjectives end with an e:

English
sweet things
good deeds
great events

Norwegian
ste saker
gode gjerninger
store begivenheter

When an adjective is placed before a noun in the definite (the) form, the definite ending is added to the
noun and the adjective is preceded by the definite article den (for masculine/feminine singular), det
(for neuter singular) or de (for plural). The ending of the adjective, however, is the same for all three:'
English
the sweet pain
the large meal
the lovely experiences

Norwegian
den ste smerten
det store mltidet
de deilige opplevelsene

Comparision of Adjectives
Comparative adjectives in Norwegian is somewhat similiar to English: short/shorter/shortest =
kort/kortere/kortest. The comparative English ending er becomes ere in Norwegian and the English
superlative est is also est in Norwegian.
The superlative form adds an e in the indefinitive plural and in all definitive forms (den steste
sangen/de steste sangene = the sweetest song/the sweetest songs').
English
soft
expensive
rich
wise
high
low
wide

blt
dyr
rik
klok
hy
lav
bred

Norwegian
Comparative
Superlative
bltere
bltest
dyrere
dyrest
rikere
rikest
klokere
klokest
hyere
hyest
lavere
lavest
bredere
bredest

Adjectives ending in ig or som add only st in the superlative:

English
lovely
cheap
poor
happy
slow

deilig
billig
fattig
lykkelig
langsom

Norwegian
Comparative
deiligere
billigere
fattigere
lykkeligere
langsommere

Superlative
deiligst
billigst
fattigst
lykkeligst
langsomst

If an adjective ends with el, en or er, the e is normmally dropped before adding the ere or est endings.
In double consonant words, one consonant is dropped in the process:
English
noble
lazy
cheerful
delicious

edel
doven
munter
lekker

Norwegian
Comparative
edlere
dovnere
muntrere
lekrere

Superlative
edlest
dovnest
muntrest
lekrest

Adverbs
Common Adverbs
Adverbs of Place & Movement

Common Adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs to which they are added. In Norwegian, adjectives in
the neuter form are often used as adverbs (e.g. godt = well; langt = far). Sometimes adjectives remain
unchanged when used as adverb (e.g. lett = lightly).
Some common adverbs:
English
never/all the same
anyway
always
only
then/besides
furthermore
unfortunately
yet/however
otherwise
still/yet
too
quite/rather
willingly
fortunately
not
especially
far
(for a) long (time)
perhaps
perhaps
of course
now
almost
often
also
of course
sometimes
immediately
then
occasionally

Norwegian
aldri
allikevel
alltid
bare/kun
da
dessuten
desverre
dog
ellers
endnu
for
ganske
gjerne
heldigvis
ikke
isr
langt
lenge
muligens
kanskje
naturligvis
n
nesten
ofte
ogs
selvflgelig
noen ganger
straks
s
av og til

Adverbs of Place & Movement

English
went away
was away/gone
went/walked home
stayed at home
walk forward
we have got there
come in!
we are locked in
out you go
we are out
up(wards)

Movement
gikk bort
---gikk hjem
---g frem
---kom inn!
---ut med deg
opp

Norwegian
Place
---var borte
---ble hjemme
---vi er fremme
---vi er lukket inne
---vi er ute
oppe

Pronouns
Subject Pronouns
Object Pronouns
Relative Pronouns

Subject Pronouns
English
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they

Norwegian
jeg
du
ha
hun
den
vi
dere
de

Object Pronouns
English
me
you (familiar sing.)
you (polite sing.)
him
her
it
us
you (familiar pl.)
you (polite pl.)
them

Norwegian
meg
deg
Dem
han/ham
henne
den/det
oss
dere
Dem
dem

Relative Pronouns
The single Norwegian word som can be used for the English who, that and which.

Prepositions
English
along
of
behind
among
after
for
before
past
before
from/off
through
with/at
along
with
among/between
towards/against
near
about/on
around
over/above
opposite
on
to
without

Norwegian
bortover
av
bak
blant
etter
for
foran
forbi
fr
fra
gjennom
hos
langs (med)
med
mellom
mot
nr
om
omkring
over
overfor
p
til
uten

Conjunctions
English
and
or
but
plus
as well as
for/because
so

Norwegian
og
eller
men
samt
s vel som
for
s

Time & Numbers

Days & Months
Hours of the Day
Numbers

Days & Months

Days
English
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

Norwegian
mandag
tirsdag
onsdag
torsdag
fredag
lrdag
sndag

Months
English
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
English
August
September
October
November
December

Norwegian
januar
februar
mars
april
mai
juni
juli
Norwegian
august
september
oktober
november
desember

Hours of the Day

The 24-hour clock is used in Norway. The English a.m. or p.m. designations are not known.
Time
6-9
9-12 (15)
12 (15)-18
18-24
24-6

Norwegian
morgen
formiddag
ettermiddag
kveld
natt

Numbers
Number
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
101
113
231
8,010
100,000
2,000,000

Norwegian
null
en/ett
to
tre
fire
fem
seks
syv
tte
ni
ti
elleve
tolv
tretten
fjorten
femten
seksten
atten
nitten
tjue
tjueen
tjueto
tretti
frti
femti
seksti
sytti
tti
nitti
hundre
hundreogen
hundreogtretten
tohundreogtrettien
ttetusenogti
(ett)hundretusen
to millioner

Sentence Structure
Norwegian word order is often the same as English but there are some very important differences. In
Norwegian sentences, the verb changes place if the sentence starts with an adverb or a subordinate
clause precedes the the main clause:
English
I am buying a car today
Today I am buying a car
I take the car if it rains
If it rains, I take the car

Norwegian
Jeg kjper en bil i dag
I dag kjper jeg en bil
Jeg tar bilen hvis det regner
Hvis det regner, tar jeg bilen

Correspondence
The Date
In Norwegian, the date is written with the date preceding the month, for example: 8. mai (May 8) or 25.
desember (December 25).

Letter Opening
In Norwegian there is no equivalent to the English opening: "Dear Sir(s)." When writing to a company,
for example, one should proceed straight into the text unless the addressee is known by their title and
name.

Letter Closings
Business
Friends

English
Yours faithfully
Yours sincerely
Kind regards
devoted

Norwegian
Vennlig hilsen
Med vennlig hilsen
Vennlig hilsen
Mange venlige hils(e)ner or
Deres/din hengivne