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    Basic Sentence Structure PDF

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    Ambrosini23
    A sentence In Norwegian must always have a verb and a subject. The verb can never be left out, not the verb a vaere (to be) either. The subject must be in the first or third position. If the subject is not first, the subject will split the verbs.

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    Basic Sentence Structure PDF

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    Ambrosini23
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    A sentence In Norwegian must always have a verb and a subject. The verb can never be left out, not the verb a vaere (to be) either. The subject must be in the first or third position. If the subject is not first, the subject will split the verbs.

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    BASIC SENTENCE STRUCTURE.pdf

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    A sentence In Norwegian must always have a verb and a subject. The verb can never be left out, not the verb a vaere (to be) either. The subject must be in the first or third position. If the subject is not first, the subject will split the verbs.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    229 views3 pages

    Basic Sentence Structure PDF

    Uploaded by

    Ambrosini23
    A sentence In Norwegian must always have a verb and a subject. The verb can never be left out, not the verb a vaere (to be) either. The subject must be in the first or third position. If the subject is not first, the subject will split the verbs.

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    of 3

    BASIC SENTENCE STRUCTURE

    The main principles for the structure in Norwegian main clauses are as
    follows:
    1. There must be a verb and a subject
    In Norwegian, the verb can never be left out, not the verb vre (to be) either:
    Jeg er norsk.
    Det er en mann.

    (I am Norwegian)
    (It is a man)

    As the verb does not change in person or number in Norwegian, it does not
    tell us who is performing the action in the sentence, as it does in many other
    languages. Therefore, a Norwegian sentence should always have a subject
    telling us who is doing something:
    Han kommer fra Norge.
    N bor han i Oslo.

    (He comes from Norway)


    (Now he lives in Oslo)

    2. The verb is in the second position


    The verb must be the second element in a Norwegian main clause.
    Han snakker norsk n.
    (He speaks Norwegian now)
    Tom og Lisa snakker norsk n.
    N snakker han norsk.
    In the second sentence, Tom og Lisa is a complex subject: Who speak
    Norwegian? Tom and Lisa. It therefore counts as one element even if there are
    three words.

    3. The subject is in the first or third position


    If the sentence does not start with the subject, the subject follows directly after
    the verb. If the subject is not first, and there is more than one verb, the subject
    will split the verbs:
    Han snakker norsk n.
    N snakker han norsk.
    Han kan snakke norsk n.
    N kan han snakke norsk.

    grammatikk.com Kjell H. Ullestad

    Basic sentence structure | 2

    4. The negation is behind the verb


    The negation ikke is positioned after the verb in Norwegian. If there is more
    than one verb, the negation will split them.
    Han snakker ikke norsk n.
    N snakker han ikke norsk.
    Han kan ikke snakke norsk.

    (He doesn't speak Norwegian now)

    Notice that the negation follows after the subject in the second sentence. This
    is because the subject should be in the third position.
    A number of other adverbs, called setningsadverb, also take this position. You
    will find more information about this in the document Setningsadverb.

    5. Adverbials are first or last


    Adverbials tell you when, where, how or why something is done. They should
    be either first or last in the sentence.
    Sola skinner i Oslo n.
    N skinner sola i Oslo.
    I Oslo skinner sola n.

    (The sun shines in Oslo now)

    Notice that there can only be one adverbial in front of the verb, as the verb
    must be second in the sentence.
    Place is usually before time in the sentence.

    grammatikk.com Kjell H. Ullestad

    Basic sentence structure | 3

    Combining sentences
    When we combine sentences with a conjunction like og (and) and men (but),
    the conjunction does not count as an element in the last sentence. This means
    that we start counting after the conjunction to find the right position of the
    verb and subject.
    1

    Han er norsk, og jeg er norsk.


    1

    Han kommer fra England, men n bor han ikke i England.

    Questions
    Question words are counted as elements and should be followed directly by
    the verb:
    Hvor bor du?

    (Where do you live?)

    Questions for yes or no start with the verb:


    Bor du her?
    Bor han ikke i Oslo?

    (Do you live here?)

    grammatikk.com Kjell H. Ullestad

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