4 Grammar

4 Grammar

Demonstratives

VIDEO

Demonstratives specify objects as well as distance to the objects.

Denne and den is used with singular masculine and feminine nouns.
Dette and det is used with singular neuter nouns.
Disse and de is used with plural nouns.

Note that the nouns following the demonstratives take the definite form: denne bilen etc.

Near: Far:
Masc. denne bilen this car den bilen that car
Fem. denne veska this handbag den veska that handbag
Neut. dette kartet this map det kartet that map
Plural disse bilene these cars de bilene those cars

Verbs

Infinitive

Some expressions with prepositions and some verbs are followed by å + infinitive:

for å in order to Anna går til kassen for å betale .
å ha lyst til want/would like to Hun har lyst til å kjøpe en norsk roman.
å begynne begin Hun begynner å lese i boka.
å like like Hun liker å lese.


Auxiliary verbs without main verb (expressions of motion)

In certain situations you can omit the main verb (the infinitive) after the auxiliary verb:

Ken vil (dra) hjem. → Ken vil hjem. Ken wants to go home
Anna skal (gå) ut. → Anna skal ut. Anna is going out

Adjectives

VIDEO

In Chapter 3 we learnt the main pattern for adjectives: Most adjectives add -t in the neuter and -e in the plural.

Attributive form

Singular Plural
Masc. Fem. Neut.  
en brun stol ei brun seng et brunt bord brune stoler/senger/bord
a brown chair a brown bed a brown table brown chairs/beds/tables


Predicative form

Singular Plural
Masc. Fem. Neut.  
Stolen er brun Senga er brun Bordet er brunt Stolene/sengene/bordene er brune stoler/senger/bord
The chair is brown The bed is brown The table is brown The chairs/beds/tables are brown


There are however some other patterns for adjectives as well:

Other patterns

Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural
en ny bil ei ny veske et nytt skjerf nye biler
One-syllable adjectives ending in a stressed vowel: -tt in neuter (ny: new).
en billig bil ei billig veske et billig_ skjerf billige biler
Adjectives ending in -ig: no -t in neuter (billig: cheap).
en tysk bil ei tysk veske et tysk_skjerf tyske biler
Nationality adjectives ending in -sk: no -t in neuter (tysk: German).
en praktisk bil ei praktisk veske et praktisk_ skjerf praktiske biler
Foreign adjectives ending in -isk: no -t in neuter (praktisk: practical).
en moderne bil ei moderne veske et moderne_ skjerf moderne biler
Adjectives ending in -e: no -t the neuter (moderne: modern).
en grønn bil ei grønn veske et grønt skjerf grønne biler
Most adjectives with a double consonant drop one consonant before t (grønn: green).


Quizlet

Two special adjectives

Liten (small) and annen (other) are irregular adjectives.

Attributive form

Singular Plural
Masc. Fem. Neut.  
en liten bil ei lita bok et lite skjerf små biler/bøker/skjerf
a small car a small book a small scarf small cars/books/scarfs
en annen bil ei anna bok et annet skjerf andre biler/bøker/skjerf
another car another book another scarf other cars/books/scarfs


Predicative form

Singular Plural
Masc. Fem. Neut.  
Bilen er liten Boka er lita Skjerfet er lite Bilene/bøkene/skjerfene er små
The car is small The book is small The scarf is small The cars/books/scarves are small


Annen (other) is not used in predicative form.