Norwegian grammar

A learner says: Jeg snakker på telefon. Then someone corrects it: Jeg snakker i telefonen. And suddenly a very small Norwegian preposition creates a very large problem. Which sentence is actually right? The interesting answer is that Norwegian does not force us into the simple choice learners are often given. Both patterns exist. The real […]

Enten … eller, verken … eller — and what these structures reveal about how languages organize thought Learning enten … eller and verken … eller looks easy. enten … eller — either … orverken … eller — neither … nor Two constructions. Two translations. A few examples. Lesson finished? Not quite. Because the interesting question […]

Before you learn your first verbs in Norwegian, you meet a tiny word that everyone recognizes and almost no one understands.Det. Students translate it as “it,” assume it works like English, and then the confusion begins. Why does Norwegian need a subject even when nothing exists? Why can’t you simply say “Cold.” like in Russian […]