Norwegian: An Essential Grammar

Ase-Berit Strandskogen, Rolf Strandskogen, ÅAse-Berit Strandskogen, Barbara White

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 1994
• Print ISBN:
  9780415109796
  9781138170582
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781136768460
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Norwegian: An Essential Grammar is a reference guide to the most important aspects of contemporary Norwegian as used by native speakers.
The Grammar presents a fresh and accessible description of the language. Explanations are clear, free from jargon and often accompanied by exercises. The book gives a simple, step-by-step presentation of the grammatical systems of Norwegian and demonstrates and explains usages which have proved difficult for those learning the language in the past. It is clearly laid-out for easy reference making it accessible for those at a beginner/intermediate level.
This is the ideal reference source for all learners, whether studying independently or in a class.

I Parts of speech

In Norwegian, words are traditionally classified by these 10 parts of speech. In recent years, there have been certain changes in Norwegian grammatical classification and terminology. The classification and terminology used in the present volume is straightforward and should be easily understood by everyone.

1. VERBS– examples: gå (go), lese (read), snakke (talk)
2. ARTICLES– examples: en, ei, ct (a, an)
3. NOUNS– examples: hus (house), mat (food), bok (book)
4. ADJECTIVES– examples: god (good), stor (big), ung (young)
5. ADVERBS– examples: ute (out), hjemme (at home), nå (now)
6. PRONOUNS– examples: jeg (I), meg (me), min (my, mine)
7. CONJUNCTIONS– examples: hvis (if), fordi (because), og (and)
8. INTERJECTIONS– examples: au (ouch), hei (hello), uff (oh)
9. NUMERALS– examples: en (one), to (two), første (first), annen (second)
10. PREPOSITIONS– examples: til (to), på (on, at), hos (by, with, at)

Verbs

Infinitive

Form:

Most infinitives end in a vowel, usually unstressed -e

Examples:

snakke (talk)	fortelle (tell)	gå (go)
reise (travel)	synge (sing)	bo (live)
spørre (ask)	danse (dance)	sy (sew)

Some verbs end in -s

Examples:

trives (thrive, do well)	treffes (meet up)
møtes (meet each other)	brukes (be used)

Note: Verbs are always given in a dictionary in the infinitive form, often preceded by the infinitive marker å (to).

Function:

Infinitive form without «å»

1. After modal auxiliaries:
   Examples:
   Jeg kan snakke norsk. (I can speak Norwegian.)
   Han vil ikke komme nå. (He doesn’t want to come now.)
   Du bør ikke gjøre det. (You shouldn’t do that.)
   De skulle også kjøpe et hus. (They were also going to buy a house.)
   Dere må spise nå. (You must eat now.)
   Jeg tør ikke gå ute når det er mørkt. (I don’t dare walk outside after dark.)
2. After the verbs «be» (ask), «høre» (hear), «kjenne» (feel), «la» (let), «se» (see)
   Examples:
   Jeg bad ham komme. (I asked him to come.)
   Han lot oss være sammen. (He let us be together.)
   Jeg hørte noen snakke der ute. (I heard someone talking out there.)
   Jeg så dem løpe av sted i full fart. (I saw them run off at full speed.)
   Jeg kjente såret svi. (I felt the cut stinging.)
3. In such expressions as:
   Hvorfor gråte når man kan le? (Why cry when you can laugh?)
   Hvorfor ikke gjøre det? (Why don’t we do that?)
   Nei, snakke, det kunne han ikke. (No, talk [was something] he couldn’t do.)
4. In a string of infinitives:
   See under Infinitive form with «å», section f.

Infinitive form with «å»

1. As the subject of a sentence:
   Examples:
   Å snakke norsk er litt vanskelig. (Speaking [literally: to speak] Norwegian is a bit difficult.)
   Å gå på ski er morsomt. (Skiing [literally: to walk on skis] is fun.)
   Å tale er sølv, men å tie er gull. (Speech is silver, but silence is golden [literally: to speak is silver, but to remain silent is golden].)
2. As the object of a sentence:
   Examples:
   Jeg liker å danse. (I like to dance.)
   Han ønsket å fly. (He wanted to fly.)
   Hun prøvde å snakke. (She tried to talk.)
3. As the complement of a sentence:
   Examples:
   Det er å gjøre for mye av ingenting. (That is making [literally: to make) too much out of nothing.)
   Det synes å ta lang tid. (It seems to be taking [literally: to take] a long time.)
4. In infinitive clauses:
   Examples:
   Jeg har mye å fortelle fra den reisen. (I have a lot to tell from that trip.)
   Han ville gjerne ha noe å drikke. (He would like something to drink.)
   Det var ikke annet å gjøre. (There was nothing else to do.)
5. After a preposition:
   Examples:
   Har du lyst til å gå nå? (Would you like to go now?)
   Det var et forsøk på å lure de andre. (It was an attempt to fool the others.)
   De hadde besternt seg for å gjøre det. (They had decided to do it.)
6. In a string of infinitives:
   1. Coordinated infinitives: Å is usually omitted after og (and) and eller (or).
      Examples:
      Han lærte å snakke og (å) skrive. (He learned to talk and (to) write.)
      De likte å hoppe og (å) danse. (They liked to jump and (to) dance.)
      De skulle begynne å skrive eller (å) lese. (They were going to start to write or (to) read.)
   2. Uncoordinated infinitives: Å cannot be omitted.
      Examples:
      
      (He must learn to talk, (to) write and (to) read.)
      ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• I Parts of speech
• II Sentence Elements
• III Sentence Structure
• IV Word Order
• Index