ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <title>Norwegian Verbs</title> <meta name="description" content="Norwegian Grammar. Verbs"> <link href="http://www.linguata.com/styles/newstyle.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="http://www.linguata.com/lightbox/lightbox.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.linguata.com/lightbox/lightbox.js"></script> </head> <body> <div id="header"> <a href="http://www.linguata.com"> <img src="http://www.linguata.com/images/logo.gif" title="Linguata language learning software" border="0" /></a></div> <div id="menuarea"> <div id="menu"> <a href="http://www.linguata.com">Home</a> | <a href="http://www.linguata.com/linguata/Languages.html">Languages</a> | <a href="http://www.linguata.com/linguata/Ordering.html?language=none">Buy</a> | <a href="http://www.linguata.com/linguata/learnnorwegian.html">Learn Norwegian</a> | <a href="http://www.linguata.com/linguata/About_Us.html">About</a> </div> </div> <div id="wrapper"> <div id="content"> <div id="threetier" align="center"> </div> <div id="maincentred"> <p> <!- All text goes under here -!> <h1>Norwegian Grammar. Verbs</h1> <p>Norwegian verbs come with two important recommendations: they often sound or look like their English equivalents, and they are grammatically simpler.</p> <p>The following list provides some examples to illustrate the first point. When you hear it read out on <i>Linguata</i> you will notice that some words look, but do not sound, like the English, whereas with others it is vice versa. The list also includes some false friends (marked with an asterisk) as a reminder that there are words that look like the English but mean something different in Norwegian.</p> <center> <table border="1"> <tr> <td width="128"><b>Norwegian</b></td> <td width="128"><b>English</b></td></tr> <tr> <td><i>begynne</i></td><td>begin</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>brekke</i></td><td>break</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>flytte</i></td><td>move</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>gi</i></td><td>give</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>gripe</i></td><td>grasp, seize</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>hjelpe</i></td><td>help</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>holde</i></td><td>keep, hold</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>like</i></td><td>like</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>love*</i></td><td>promise, praise</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>mislike</i></td><td>dislike</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>rekke*</i></td><td>stretch</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>se</i></td><td>see</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>si</i></td><td>say, tell</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>skryke</i></td><td>shriek</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>skyve</i></td><td>shove</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>springe*</i></td><td>jump, run, burst</td></tr> <tr> <td><i>åpne</i></td><td>open</td></tr> </table> </center> <BR><BR> <h2> Verbs and Tenses</h2> <p>Norwegian verbs have regular and irregular forms. The majority of verbs are regular but many irregular verbs occur very frequently in common use. There are also important dialectal variants. On the plus side, Norwegian verbs do not change within tenses. </p> <p><h4>The present tense of <i>å snakke</i>, to speak : </h4></p> <center> <table border="1"> <tr> <td width="10"><b>Subject </b></td><td width="128"><b>Present Tense</b></td><td width="128"> <b>English</b></td></tr> <tr><td><i>jeg</i></td><td><i>snakker</i></td><td> I speak</td></tr> <tr><td><i>du</i></td><td><i>snakker</i></td><td> you speak (informal)</td></tr> <tr><td><i>De</i></td><td><i>snakker</i></td><td> you speak (formal)</td></tr> <tr><td><i>han</i></td><td><i>snakker</i></td><td> he speaks</td></tr> <tr><td><i>hun</i></td><td><i>snakker</i></td><td> she speaks</td></tr> <tr><td><i>den/det</i></td><td><i>snakker</i></td><td> it speaks</td></tr> <tr><td><i>vi</i></td><td><i>snakker</i></td><td> we speak</td></tr> <tr><td><i>dere</i></td><td><i>snakker</i></td><td> you speak (plural, informal)</td></tr> <tr><td><i>De</i></td><td><i>snakker</i></td><td> you speak (plural, formal)</td></tr> <tr><td><i>de</i></td><td><i>snakker</i></td><td> they speak</td></tr> </table border="1"> <tr> </center> <BR> <p>Most verbs form the present tense like this i.e. by adding  r or  er to the verb stem, which is usually the infinitive minus its final  e.</p> <BR><BR> <h2>Past Tenses</h2> Past tenses are also classified into regular and irregular forms. This is broadly similar to the situation in English, where we have regular or  weak verbs formed by adding  d or  ed to the verb stem, e.g. love/loved/have loved, like/liked/have liked, start/started/have started; and irregular or  strong verbs such as give/gave/given, go/went/gone, sing/sang/sung where the relationship between present and past tenses is not straightforward. The following table lists some common regular and irregular verbs: <BR><BR> <table border="1"> <tr> <td width="120"><b>Infinitive</b></td> <td width="120"><b>Present</b></td><td width="120"> <b>Past</b></td><td width="120"><b>Perfect</b></td><td width="120"><b>English</b></td></tr> <td><b>Regular Type I</b></p></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> <td><i>å glede</i></td> <td><i>gleder</i></td><td> <i>gledet</i></td><td><i>har gledet</i></td><td>please/pleased</td></tr> <td><i>å huske</i></td> <td><i>husker</i></td><td> <i>husket</i></td><td><i>har husket</i></td><td>remember/remembered</td></tr> <td><i>å jobbe</i></td> <td><i>jobber</i></td><td> <i>jobbet</i></td><td><i>har jobbet</i></td><td>work/worked</td></tr> <td><i>å koste</i></td> <td><i>koster</i></td><td> <i>kostet</i></td><td><i>har kostet</i></td><td>cost/cost</td></tr> <td><i>å snakke</i></td> <td><i>snakker</i></td><td> <i>snakket</i></td><td><i>har snakket</i></td><td>speak/spoke/spoken</td></tr> <td><b>Regular Type II</b></td> <td><i></i></td><td> <i></i></td><td><i></i></td><td></td></tr> <td><i>å forklare</i></td> <td><i>forklarer</i></td><td> <i>forklarte</i></td><td><i>har forklart</i></td><td>explain/explained</td></tr> <td><i>å glemme</i></td> <td><i>glemmer</i></td><td> <i>glemte</i></td><td><i>har glemt</i></td><td>forget/forgot/forgotten</td></tr> <td><i>å hete</i></td> <td><i>heter</i></td><td> <i>het/hette</i></td><td><i>har hettet</i></td><td>be called</td></tr> <td><i>å kjøpe</i></td> <td><i>kjøper</i></td><td> <i>kjøpte</i></td><td><i>har kjøpt</i></td><td>buy/bought</td></tr> <td><b>Regular Type III</b></td> <td><i></i></td><td> <i></i></td><td><i></i></td><td></td></tr> <td><i>å greie</i></td> <td><i>greier</i></td><td> <i>greide</i></td><td><i>har greid</i></td><td>manage/managed</td></tr> <td><i>å klage</i></td> <td><i>klager</i></td><td> <i>klagde</i></td><td><i>har klagd</i></td><td>complain/complained</td></tr> <td><i>å kreve</i></td> <td><i>krever</i></td><td> <i>krevde</i></td><td><i>har krevd</i></td><td>demand/demanded</td></tr> <td><i>å prøve</i></td> <td><i>prøver</i></td><td> <i>prøvde</i></td><td><i>har prøvd</i></td><td>try/tried</td></tr> <td><b>Regular Type IV</b></td> <td><i></i></td><td> <i></i></td><td><i></i></td><td></td></tr> <td><i>å bo</i></td> <td><i>bor</i></td><td> <i>bodde</i></td><td><i>har bodd</i></td><td>dwell/dwelt</td></tr> <td><i>å nå</i></td> <td><i>når</i></td><td> <i>nådde</i></td><td><i>har nådd</i></td><td>reach/reached</td></tr> <td><i>å skje</i></td> <td><i>skjer</i></td><td> <i>skjedde</i></td><td><i>har skjedd</i></td><td>happen/happened</td></tr> <td><i>å tro</i></td> <td><i>tror</i></td><td> <i>trodde</i></td><td><i>har trod</i></td><td>believe/believe</td></tr> <td><b></b></td> <td><i></i></td><td> <i></i></td><td><i></i></td><td></td></tr> <td><b>Irregular </b></td> <td><i></i></td><td> <i></i></td><td><i></i></td><td></td></tr> <td><i>å bli</i></td> <td><i>blir</i></td><td> <i>ble/blei</i></td><td><i>har blit</i></td><td>become/became/become</td></tr> <td><i>å brekke</i></td> <td><i>brekker</i></td><td> <i>brakk</i></td><td><i>har brukket</i></td><td>break/broke/broken</td></tr> <td><i>å drikke</i></td> <td><i>drikker</i></td><td> <i>drakk</i></td><td><i>har drukket</i></td><td>drink/drank/drunk</td></tr> <td><i>å fare</i></td> <td><i>farer</i></td><td> <i>for</i></td><td><i>har faret</i></td><td>travel/travelled</td></tr> <td><i>å finne</i></td> <td><i>finner</i></td><td> <i>fant</i></td><td><i>har funnet</i></td><td>find/found</td></tr> <td><i>å foretrekke</i></td> <td><i>foretrekker</i></td><td> <i>foretrakk</i></td><td><i>har foretrukket</i></td><td>prefer/preferred</td></tr> <td><i>å forstå</i></td> <td><i>forstår</i></td><td> <i>forstod</i></td><td><i>har forstått</i></td><td>understand/understood</td></tr> <td><i>å få</i></td> <td><i>får</i></td><td> <i>fikk</i></td><td><i>har fått</i></td><td>get/got</td></tr> <td><i>å gjøre</i></td> <td><i>gjør</i></td><td> <i>gjørde</i></td><td><i>har gjørt</i></td><td>do/did/done</td></tr> <td><i>å hjelpe</i></td> <td><i>hjelper</i></td><td> <i>hjalp</i></td><td><i>har hjulpet</i></td><td>help/helped</td></tr> <td><i>å late</i></td> <td><i>later</i></td><td> <i>lot</i></td><td><i>har lott</i></td><td>allow/allowed</td></tr> <td><i>å si</i></td> <td><i>sier</i></td><td> <i>sa</i></td><td><i>har sagt</i></td><td>say/said</td></tr> <td><i>å skrive</i></td> <td><i>skriver</i></td><td> <i>skrev</i></td><td><i>har skrevet</i></td><td>write/wrote/written</td></tr> <td><i>å spørre</i></td> <td><i>spør</i></td><td> <i>spurte</i></td><td><i>har spurt</i></td><td>ask/asked</td></tr> <td><i>å stå</i></td> <td><i>står</i></td><td> <i>stod</i></td><td><i>har stått</i></td><td>stand/stood</td></tr> <td><i>å ta</i></td> <td><i>tar</i></td><td> <i>tok</i></td><td><i>har tatt</i></td><td>take/took/taken</td></tr> <td><i>å være</i></td> <td><i>er</i></td><td> <i>var</i></td><td><i>har vært</i></td><td>is/was/been</td></tr> </table> <br> <small><h3>References and Recommended Reading</h3></small> <small><p>Wikipedia- <i>The Norwegian Language</i> at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_language.</p> <p>Louis Janus, <i>Norwegian: Verbs and Essentials of Grammar </i>(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998) </small> </p> <BR><BR> <h2>Related languages</h2> <a href="http://www.linguata.com/linguata/Learn_Danish_Phrases.html">Danish</a>, <a href="http://www.linguata.com/linguata/Learn_Swedish.html">Swedish</a> <BR><BR> <!- No more text goes under here -!> </p> </div> </div> <img src="http://www.linguata.com/images/contentbottom.gif" /><br /> <div id="footer"> <a href="http://www.linguata.com/linguata/words_and_phrases.html" title="Words and phrases in different languages" >WORDS AND PHRASES</a> | <a href="http://www.linguata.com/linguata/language_faqs.html" title="Questions and answers on different languages">LANGUAGE FAQS</a> | <a 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