Grammar Keynotes:
Norwegian
as a Second Language (bokmål)
Av Gø l i n Kauri n N i l s en o g K ari El i s ab et Fu en te s
1 ALFABET OG LYDER (ALPHABET AND SOUNDS) 2 ORDKLASSER (WORD CLASSES) 3 SETNINGER (SENTENCES)
1 ALFABET OG LYDER (ALPHABET AND SOUNDS) Upper and lower case letter A/a B/b C/c
Letter name
Phonetics (IPA) Examples
a be se
[a] [b] [s], [k] eller [ʃ]
D/d
de
[d]
E/e F/f
e eff
[e] eller [ə] [f]
G/g H/h I/i J/j K/k L/l M/m N/n O/o P/p
ge hå i je kå ell emm enn o pe
[g] [h] [i] [j] [k] [l] [m] [n] [u] eller [o] [p]
Q/q R/r S/s T/t U/u V/v W/w X/x Y/y Z/z Æ/æ
ku ærr ess te u ve dåbbelt-ve eks y sett æ
[kʉ] [r] [s] [t] [ʉ] eller [u] [v] [v] [s] [y] [s] eller [ts] [æ]
Ø/ø Å/å
ø å
[ø] [o]
The vowel is usually short in front of two different consonants: laks, jente, bank, stanse. ananas [ana’nas] bil [bi:l], bro [bru:], nebb [neb] Cecilie [se’silie], Carl [karl], cello [‘ʃəlu] danse [‘dansə], dra [dra:], bade [‘ba:de] eple [‘əplə], leve [‘le:və] fri [fri:], foran [‘foran], sofa [‘su:fa], huff [hʉf] gammel [‘gaməl], egg [əg] hånd [‘ho:n], aha [a’ha] is [i:s], ikke [‘ike], bli [bli:] ja [ja:], jente [‘jəntə] kan [kan], leke [‘le:kə], trikk [trik] lampe [‘lampə], stol [stu:l] mat [ma:t], gammel [‘gaməl] natt [nat], en [e:n] ost [ust], stor [stu:r], sove [‘so:ve] pære [‘pæ:rə], par [pa:r], appelsin [apel’si:n] IQ [‘i: ‘kʉ:] rik [ri:k], er [æ:r], ser [se:r] såpe [‘so:pe], eske [‘eskə], plass [plas] to [tu:], tretti [‘trəti], lett [lət] ute [‘ʉ:tə], tull [tʉl], bukse [‘buksə] varm [varm], sove [‘so:və] WC [‘ve: ‘se:] xylofon [sylu’fu:n] yrke [‘yrke], dyp [dy:p], lykke [lykə] Zoltan [‘soltan], pizza [‘pitsa] ære [‘æ:rə], være [‘væ:rə], Bergen [bærgən] øre [‘ø:rə], øl [øl], brød [brø:] åtte [‘ote], låse [‘lo:sə], råd [ro:d]
1.1 VOKALER (VOWELS) Norwegian has 9 vowels: A/a, E/e, I/i, O/o, U/u, Y/y, Æ/æ, Ø/ø, Å/å. The vowels can be long: lage [‘la:gə], evig [‘e:vi], slik [sli:k]. The vowels can be short: Anne [‘anə], lytte [‘lytə], åtte [‘otə]. Sometimes the meaning of the word is determined by the length of the vowel: gul [gʉ:l] – gull [gʉl], tak [ta:k] – takk [tak], pen [pe:n] – penn [pən]. 1.2 DIFTONGER (DIPHTHONGS) Norwegian has six diphthongs. Diphthongs are always long: • • • • • •
We can have single consonants and double consonants (geminates) in Norwegian. The vowel is always long in front of a single consonant, and always short in front of a double consonant: bak, bakke, søt, søtt.
AI [ai:]: mai, Thailand, hai AU [əʉ:]: Au!, Haugesund, sau EI [əi:]: hei, leilighet, stein ØY [øi:]: øy, tøy, fløyte OI, OY [oi:]: joik, soya UI [ʉi:]: hui (i hui og hast)
We use the diphthongs AI, AU, EI and ØY in many words, but we rarely use the diphthongs OI/OY and UI. 1.3 KONSONANTER (CONSONANTS) Norwegian has 20 consonants, but we rarely use these consonants: C/c, Q/q, W/w, X/x, Z/z.
Due to these pronunciation rules the conjugation or declension of words can sometimes change the length of the vowel: å løpe [o ‘lø:pe] – har løpt [ha:r ‘løpt], rød [rø:] – rødt [røt], slik [sli:k] – slikt [slikt]. 1.3.1 Stumme konsonanter (Silent consonants) Sometimes the consonants are silent, meaning we do not voice them: • • • •
g in gj-: gjenta [‘jənta], gjennom [jenum], igjen [i’jən] -g in -ig: hyggelig [‘hygəli], nydelig [‘ny:dəli] h in hv-: hva [va:], hvem [vem], hvor [vu:r] -t in the definite singular form of neuter nouns: huset [‘hʉ:sə], eplet [‘əplə]
1.3.2 Konsonantforbindelser (Consonant clusters) We usually write one sound with one letter. However, some sounds are written with multiple letters: • • • • • •
skj [ʃ]: skjørt [ʃørt], skjære [‘ʃæ:rə] sj [ʃ]: sjal [ʃa:l], sjette [‘ʃətə] sk- in front of i and y [ʃ]: ski [ʃi:], sky [ʃy:] -ng and n in front of k [ŋ]: sang [saŋ], bank [baŋk] kj [ç]: kjole [‘çu:lə], kjøtt [‘çøt] k- in front of i and y [ç]: kino [‘çi:nu], kylling [‘çyliŋ]
2 ORDKLASSER (WORD CLASSES) 2.1 SUBSTANTIV (NOUNS) Nouns are words that refer to persons, places, things, situations or states of being. All nouns have a gender in Norwegian, and the gender of the noun determines the article: en, ei or et. We decline nouns in singular and plural, indefinite form and definite form: Entall (Singular) ubestemt form (indefinite form) Hankjønn en gutt (Masculine) en kjole Hunkjønn ei dør (Feminine) ei jente Intetkjønn et bord (Neuter) et eple et vindu
Flertall (Plural) bestemt form (definite form) gutten kjolen døra jenta bordet eplet vinduet
ubestemt form (indefinite form) gutter kjoler dører jenter bord epler vindu/vinduer
bestemt form (definite form) guttene kjolene dørene jentene bordene eplene vinduene
We decline neuter nouns in three ways in the indefinite plural form: • Words with one syllable add no ending in the indefinite plural form: et hus → to hus, et skap → to skap, et gulv → to gulv • Words with multiple syllables ending with an unstressed -e, add -r in the indefinite plural form: et teppe → to tepper, et eple → to epler, et sete → to seter • In words ending with a consonant or a vowel other than -e, the ending is optional: et vindu → to vindu/vinduer, et problem → to problem/problemer Note: All feminine nouns can be declined as masculine nouns, but not vice versa: ei dør → en dør (døren, dører, dørene) ei jente → en jente (jenten, jenter, jentene) 2.1.1 Unntak (Exceptions) There are exceptions in the declension of some nouns in the plural form: • Masculine a) Contraction (words ending in -er and -el): en lærer – lærere – lærerne, en genser – gensere – genserne, en onkel – onkler – onklene, en hybel – hybler – hyblene
3.1.1 Verbal (Verbal) The verbal is the verb in a sentence. A sentence must always have a verb in either the present or past tense. This verb is v1 in the sentence. If a sentence has a compound verb, we call the participle or infinitive V2. The verbal (v1) is an obligatory sentence constituent in Norwegian. Lise kjøpte ny TV i går. Lise vil gjerne kjøpe ny TV.
Midtfelt (Medial position): If the initial position contains a temporal or spatial expression, then the subject (S) has to be in the medial position (example 2). There you will also find some of the adverbials (A). Adverbials (A) usually come after the subject (S) in inverted sentences. The word “ikke” is an exception: If the subject (S) is emphasised (is a name) “ikke” comes before the subject (S) (example 5). V2: Infinitive or past participle.
3.1.2 Subjekt (Subject) The subject is the sentence constituent that “performs” the inflected verb. The subject is an obligatory sentence constituent in Norwegian.
Sluttfeltet (End position): In the end position you will find the object (O), predicative (Pt) and adverbials (A). The indirect object (IO) comes before the direct object (DO) (example 6). (A) that are spatial expressions usually come before temporal expressions (example 1).
Lise kjøpte ny TV i går.
3.2.2 Det-setninger (It-sentences) Det (It) may serve as an expletive in some sentences and thus has a placeholder function only. This is because all sentences must have a subject in Norwegian:
3.1.3 Objekt (Object) The direct object is the person or thing that is affected or brought about by the action denoted by the verb. The object is not an obligatory sentence constituent in Norwegian. Lise kjøpte ny TV i går. The indirect object is the person or thing that benefits or receives something through the action of the subject. The indirect object is not an obligatory sentence constituent in Norwegian. Lise ga mor den nye TV-en. 3.1.4 Predikativ (Predicative) The predicative is a sentence constituent which modifies the subject in some way. Usually the verbs å være (to be) or å bli (to become) are verbals in such sentences, and in those cases the predicative is an obligatory sentence constituent. Lise ble overrasket. 3.1.5 Adverbial (Adverbial) The adverbial functions as a sentence constituent which typically expresses where, when, how or why something happens. An adverbial constituent may be a single word (usually an adverb), a group of words or a clause: likevel. for to måneder siden. før hun dro på besøk til foreldrene.
Hun tok eksamen
We divide the adverbials into adverbials (A) and auxiliary adverbials (a). The adverbials (A) are found in the initial position or end position in a sentence, and the auxiliary adverbials (a) are found in the medial position in the sentence (as shown in the table for main clauses). The most commonly used auxiliary adverbials are ikke, gjerne (heller, helst), aldri, alltid, ofte, også, nok. 3.2 HELSETNINGER (MAIN CLAUSES) A main clause always has the (inflected) verb in place 2 (see table below). In Norwegian, the main clause always contains a verb in the present or past tense in place 2, unless it is an imperative sentence: Gutten Han Vi Hun
v1 (presens eller preteritum) leser kjøpte har spør
ei bok. to liter melk på veien hjem. tre barn. om han liker fisk.
This also applies to questions. In yes/no questions the verb comes first: Hvem Hva
v1 (presens eller preteritum) leser kjøpte Har Liker
ei bok? han på veien hjem? dere barn? du fisk?
Det regner. Det er vanskelig. Det kommer en mann bak oss. = En mann kommer bak oss. Det var fint at du kunne komme. = At du kunne komme, var fint. 3.2.2.1 Utbrytning (Clefting) When we want to emphasise something, we create an it-sentence, containing a who/ which/that-clause: Det er Ola som er sjefen her. = Ola er sjefen her (ikke Petter, for eksempel). Det var Geir som knuste ruten. = Geir knuste ruten (ikke Petter, for eksempel). 3.3 LEDDSETNINGER (SUBORDINATE CLAUSES) Subordinate clauses are clauses which are sentence constituents or a part of a sentence constituent. Subordinate clauses start with a subordinating conjunction: Jeg spør om du liker fisk. (The subordinate clause is the object, the subordinating conjunction: om.) De gikk inn fordi det begynte å regne. (The subordinate clause is the adverbial, the subordinating conjunction: fordi.) De har solgt bilen som de kjøpte i fjor. (The subordinate clause is part of a sentence constituent: the object, the subordinating conjunction: som.) When the subordinate clause is placed in the first part of the main sentence, a comma must follow it: Fordi det begynte å regne, gikk de inn. 3.3.1 Skjema for leddsetninger (Table for subordinate clauses) Forfelt (Initial position) 1 2 3 4 5
… fordi Selv om … om som …
Subjekt Setnings (Subadverbial ject) (Auxiliary adverbials) de ikke han alltid vi du
ikke
v1
V2
kunne dra ga kan ta studerer kjenner.
Sluttfelt (End position)
på hytta i år. henne en ny sjanse, … en kopp kaffe sammen. psykologi.
Forfelt (Initial position): There is always a subordinating conjunction in the initial position, except in adjectival subordinate clauses where som is not the subject (S). In those sentences som might be left out (example 5). Subjekt (Subject): The subject (S) always comes first in a subordinate clause (after the subordinating conjunction). Setningsadverbial (Auxiliary adverbials): The auxiliary adverbials (a) are always placed after the subject (S) and in front of v1 in a subordinate clause (example 1, 2, 5). v1: The inflected verb in the present or past tense. V2: Infinitive or past participle.
3.2.1 Skjema for helsetninger (Table for main clauses) Forfelt v1 (Initial position) S/A 1 Mange familier pleier 2 I påsken
pleier
mange familier
Sluttfelt (End position) O/Pt/A å reise på hytta i påsken. å reise på hytta.
3 4 5 6
kan kunne kunne har
vi gjerne ta de ikke komme ikke familien hennes komme gitt
en kopp kaffe s ammen. i år. i år. henne en ny sjanse.
Når du har tid, Dessverre Dessverre Han
Midtfelt (Medial position) S/a
V2
Forfelt (Initial position): The initial position in a Norwegian main clause can contain only one constituent, either the subject (S) or an adverbial (A). The adverbial (A) may be an adverb (example 4–5), a prepositional phrase (example 2) or a subordinate clause (example 3). v1: The inflected verb in the present or past tense.
Sluttfeltet (End position): In the end position you will find the object (O), predicative (Pt) and adverbials (A). The indirect object (IO) comes before the direct object (DO), just as in a main clause (example 2). The object (O) comes before adverbial (A) (example 3), and spatial expressions come before temporal expressions (example 1). 3.4 IMPERATIVSETNINGER (IMPERATIVE SENTENCES) Imperative sentences do not have a subject because the subject of the verb is the one doing the action. The subject of the verb in an imperative sentence is always understood to be du eller dere: Kjøp avisa på veien hjem! (= Du/Dere må kjøpe avisa på veien hjem.) Vær stille! (= Du/Dere må være stille.)
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