4 Grammar

4 Grammar

PRONOUNS

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns 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 Boyana 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:

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

ADJECTIVES

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
a brown chair		 ei brun seng
a brown bed		 et brunt bord
a brown table		 brune stoler/senger/bord
brown chairs/beds/tables

Predicative form

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

There are however some other patterns for adjectives as well:

Other patterns

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

Two special adjectives:

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

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