The basic word order in main clauses in Norwegian is as follows:

Transcription

1 Norwegian Grammar. 1 THE SENTENCE As in all the other Germanic languages, sentences in Norwegian can be described schematically containing three fields: a prefield, midfield and backfield. The prefield contains only one element. More often than not it is the subject. If the sentence is a question the prefield is empty. The midfield and backfield can be subdivided in three fields each. The word order and content of the subfields is different for the different sentence types. 1.1 WORD ORDER The basic word order in main clauses in Norwegian is as follows: Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial Han har kanskje lest denne boka i forrige uke. he has maybe read this book.the in last week

2 I forrige uke har han kanskje lest denne boka. In last week has he maybe read this book.the Har du kanskje lest denne boka? Have you maybe read this book.the Immediately following the prefield in the midfield is the subfield Finite which contains the tensed main verb and the auxiliary verb. Then there is a position for the subject, if it is not placed in the prefield. The final element in the midfield is an optional adverbial. In the first position in the backfield we find the verb. Next follows the object, and finally an optional additional adverbial. 1.2 THE PREFIELD In Norwegian almost all sentence elements can be in the prefield. Typically one will find the subject here, but adverbs also frequently occupy this position, and more rarely the object or a particle. Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial Han fant faktisk pengene under senga. He found actually money.the under bed.the Under senga fant han faktisk pengene. Faktisk fant han pengene under senga. Pengene fant han faktisk under senga. Ut kastet han ballen. out threw he ball.the If an element occurs in the prefield its position in the mid- or backfield remains empty. Apart from the Finite-subfield, all fields can be empty. Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial

3 Vent! wait! Hun she sover. sleeps The cleft-sentence offers the same freedom of choice with respect to what has to be said first in the sentence, with the exception of the sentence adverbial in (1d), where * indicates ungrammaticality. Note that the subjunction is optional (indicated by the parentheses) when something other than the subject comes first. (1) a. Det var ham som faktisk fant pengene under senga. it was him that actually found monye.the under bed.the It was him that actually found the money under the bed. b. Det var under senga (som) han faktisk fant pengene. c. Det var pengene (som) han faktisk fant under senga. d. * Det var faktisk (som) han fant pengene under senga. 1.3 THE FINITE FIELD The verb in the finite field is always conjugated (tempus), generally by adding an ending to the stem, e.g. les-er reads. In this way an utterance is anchored in a communicative context, i.e. before, simultaneously, or after it. Without this context it is impossible to ascertain whether an utterance is true or false. The sentence Per leser denne boka Per is reading this book can only be true, if Per is actually reading the book at the time of speech. In contrast to English, the tensed verb is always the second element in the Norwegian main clauses. This means that only one element can precede the tensed verb in the prefield. If there is an auxiliary in the clause, this is placed in the second position of the prefield, and the main verb is placed in the backfield. Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial Johan har faktisk funnet pengene under senga. John has actually found money.the under bed.the

4 Han fant faktisk pengene under senga. The order of the fields in the finite field is different in main clauses and in other types of sentences. see THE SUBJECT All simple sentences contain two main elements: a subject and a finite verb. The subject is often a pronoun or noun phrase. The subject and the verb constitute the core of the sentence. If there is only a pronoun or a noun phrase together with the verb, this pronoun or noun phrase is generally the subject. If there are more pronouns or noun phrases in the sentence, the subject is the agent. If there is no action in the sentence, the subject often undergoes an experience. (1) a. John kastet ballen bort. John threw ball.the away John threw away the ball. b. Han hørte bilen. he heard car.the He heard the car. The subject can also be an anticipatory element: det it, there that refers to the real subject which follows later on in the clause: (2) a. Det er vanskelig å forstå. it is difficult to understand b. Det var tre menn i hagen. there were three men in garden.the There were three men in the garden. Normally, the subject occurs either in the prefield or in the subject field of the midfield immediately following the finite field. Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial Anneli elsker meg. Anneli loves me Kanskje elsker Anneli meg.

5 maybe loves Anneli me When the subject is either a noun phrase or a stressed pronoun, it may occur between the sentence adverbials: (3) a. Guttene hadde jo formodentlig nok ikke lest bøkene. boys.the had after-all presumably probably not read books.the The boys had after all presumably most likely not read the books. b. Så hadde guttene jo formodentlig nok ikke lest bøkene. then had boys.the after-all presumably probably not read books.the Then the boys after all had presumably most likely not read the books. c. Så hadde jo guttene formodentlig nok ikke lest bøkene. d. Så hadde jo formodentlig guttene nok ikke lest bøkene. Some pronouns have a separate subject case form: nominative. (4) a. Han elsker henne. he loves her b. Hun elsker ham. she loves him 1.5 SENTENCE ADVERBIALS Sentential adverbials contribute something to the content of the clause. They can combine clauses, highlight parts of a clause, or deny or reveal the speaker s attitude to what he or she is saying. (1) a. Han har altså en sjanse. he has thus a chance So he had a chance. b. Du skal fremfor alt komme i tide. you shall in-front-of all come in time.e You must above all be there in time. c. Anna kan ikke bli med på festen Anna can not become with on party.the Anna cannot come along to the party.

6 d. Hun vant dessverre. she won unfortunately Different kinds of words and phrases can function as sentential adverbials. For example single adverbs: kanskje maybe, participial phrases: ærlig talt honestly speaking, preposition phrases: i hvert fall in any case, and subordinate clauses: så vidt jeg vet as far as I know. Sentential adverbials most often appear in the Prefield or in the Midfield, but they may also occur in the Backfield. Prefield Midfield Backfield x Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial Jens har sikkert møtt Anna. Jens has surely met Anna Sannsynligvis har Jens møtt Anna. probably has Jens met Anna If there are more than one sentential adverbials in the Midfield, the adverbial combining clauses comes first. Next follow adverbials that express the speaker s attitude, and in the final position is the negation. (2) a. Han vil vel sannsynligvis ikke hjelpe. he will well probably not help He will most likely probably not help. b. Anna har nå heldigvis ikke kjøpt kjolen. Anna has now fortunately not bought dress.the Anna has fortunately not bought the dress. The most common sentence adverbs in written Norwegian are ikke not, også also, så so, nå now, bare just, only, da then, selv even, sammen together, hvor where, slik such. 1.6 NEGATION When the speaker wants to deny that something is true, a negative clause is used, often with negative adverbials such as ikke not, knapt hardly, or aldri never.

7 If there are several sentential adverbials in the clause, the negation always come in the final position. (1) a. Du kommer jo allikevel aldri i tide. you come after-all anyway never in time.e After all you never arrive in time anyway. b. Han kunne sannsynligvis nok heller ikke nå det. he could probably surely either not reach it He probably couldn t reach it either. The negations ikke not and knapt hardly can only occur in the beginning of the clause if the clause modifies another phrase. Aldri never can stand alone in the Prefield. (2) a. Ikke et øye var tørt. not an eye was dry b. Ikke under noen omstendigheter vil jeg akseptere denne dommen. not under any circumstances will I accept this sentence.the c. Aldri har jeg sett noe så vakkert. never have I seen anything so beautiful 1.7 THE VERB PHRASE As in English, the verb in Norwegian generally stands in the beginning of the verb phrase in the backfield. However, if the main verb is tensed, it occupies the finite position in the Midfield, and its position in the Backfield is empty. If there is an auxiliary in the clause, this is placed in the Midfield, and the main verb, which is untensed, stands in the verb position in the Backfield. Prefield Midfield Backfield x Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial Jens har x møtt Anna. Jens has met Anna Jens møter Anna. Jens meets Anna

8 The object always follows the verb, and after that comes the adverbials. Some verbs are closely connected to adverbial particles and prepositions, such as: opp up and ut out. But they still always appear in the adverbial field: (1) a. Nå kaster hun ballen ut igjen. now throws she ball.the out again Now she throws the ball out again. b. Hun har skrevet adressen opp i boka. she has written address.the up in book.the She has written down the address in the book. c. Han legger alltid to meter til. he lays always two meters to He always adds two meters. There can be many different kinds of adverbials in the Backfield. As in English, the most important rule for the order of these is that the adverbials of place generally precedes the adverbials of time: (2) a. Du skal legge boka på bordet på mandag. you shall lay book.the on table.the on Monday You must lay the book on the table on Monday. b. * Jeg kommer ikke til København på søndag. I come not to Copenhagen on Sunday I m not coming to Copenhagen on Sunday. 1.8 AUXILIARY VERBS Auxiliary verbs co-occur with the main verb and provide several ways of expressing time relations in the clause. There are several groups of auxiliaries: modal auxiliaries (måtte must, skulle should, kunne could ), tense auxiliaries (ha have, være be ), passive auxiliaries (bli become, være be ), and copula verbs (være be, bli become ) Modal auxiliaries Modal auxiliaries express the speaker s attitude to what he/she is saying. Modals generally co occur with the infinitive form of the main verb: (1) a. Jeg skal stoppe. I shall stop

9 I will stop. b. Jeg vil be deg om en tjeneste. I will ask you about a favour I m going to ask you a favour. Modal auxiliaries can express: (i) Something the speaker thinks is possible: (2) a. Jeg er sikker på at han kan være her. I am sure on that he can be here I m sure that he can be here. b. Han kan være gått hjem, men det er også mulig at han er på loftet. ha can be gone home but it is also possible that he is on attic.the He may have gone home but it is also possible that he is in the attic. (ii) Something that the speaker thinks is necessary: (3) a. Noen bør hjelpe henne. someone should help her b. Hun må ikke gå ut i dag. she must not go out today (iii) Capability or volition: (4) a. Anna kan svømme 1000 meter. Anna can swim 1000 meters b. Jeg vil ikke spise flere bananer. I want not eat more bananas I don t want to eat more bananas. Infinitive Present Past Perfect Meaning skulle skal skulle skullet shall, will, is said to, necessity (3) kunne kan kunne kunnet can, may, be able to, possibility (2), capability (4) måtte må måtte måttet must, have to, necessity (3) burde bør burde should, ougth to, necessity (3) ville vil ville villet will, want to, volition (4)

10 The modal auxiliaries are generally positioned initially in the verb phrase. Several modal auxiliaries can co-occur: (5) a. Han må kunne løpe fortere. he must can run faster He must be able to run faster. b. Det burde kunne la seg gjøre. it ought can let itself do It should be possible Other auxiliaries In addition to the modal auxiliaries, Norwegian like the other Germanic languages has auxiliaries that express time and the passive. Time is expressed by the auxiliaries ha have and være be which denote that something is completed, and ville would and skulle should which denote that something will happen in the future. (1) a. Han har kjøpt en ny bil. he has bought a new car b. Han er allerede ankommet. he is already arrived He has already arrived. c. Det vil være et stort problem for oss i fremtiden. it will be a big problem for us in future.the It will be a big problem for us in the future. d. Jeg skal reise til Paris i morgen. I shall travel to Paris tomorrow I m going to Paris tomorrow. A verb in simple present tense may also express future: (2) Jeg reiser til Paris i morgen. I travel to Paris tomorrow I m going to Paris tomorrow. Passive is expressed by the auxiliaries bli become and være be, followed by the past participle form of the main verb.

11 (3) a. Han ble kjørt over av en bil i går. he became driven over by a car yesterday He was hit by a car yesterday. b. Han er plaget av mygg. he is tormented by mosquitoes Infinitive Present Past Perfect Meaning være er var vært Tense active, passive ha har hadde hatt Tense active ville vil ville villet Tense active - future bli blir ble blitt Tense passive As in the other Germanic languages, different auxiliaries can be combined to express different aspects of the action s process: (4) a. Han kan være blitt sendt hjem av sjefen sin. he can be become sent home by boss.the his He may have been sent home by his boss. b. Hun burde ha kunnet forutse problemet. she ought have could foresee problem.the She should have been able to foresee the problem. 1.9 THE MAIN CLAUSE The main clause is the most basic kind of utterance. There are three types of main clauses: 1. The proper main clause, which has a tensed verb and functions as an assertion or a question: (1) a. Forrige uke var jeg i York. last week was I in York Last week I was in York. b. Han har ikke lest boka ennå. he has not read book.the yet He has not read the book yet. c. Var du i York i forrige uke?

12 were you in York in last week Were you in York last week? d. Har han ikke lest boka ennå? has he not read book.the yet Hasn t he read the book yet? 2. The imperative main clause, which has an imperative verb and functions as a demand: (2) a. Åpn vinduet! open window.the Open the window! b. Vær så snill! be so kind Please! 3. The exclamative main clause, which typically has the form of an embedded clause, and expresses a surprise or astonishment: (3) a. For en flott kjole! for a nice dress What a nice dress! b. Din store idiot! your big idiot You big idiot! Declarative main clauses There are two types of declarative main clauses: positive (affirmative) and negative. Positive: (1) a. Han har kjøpt boka. he has bought book.the He has bought the book. b. Han hjelper sin kone. he helps his wife Negative:

13 (2) a. Han har ikke kjøpt boka. he has not bought book.the He has not bought the book. b. Han hjelper aldri sin kone. he helps never his wife He never helps his wife Affirmative main clauses As described in section 1.1. and 1.3., affirmative main clauses have the tensed verb in the Finite field as the second element of the clause.this verb can only be preceded by one word or one phrase. If any other element than the subject precedes the verb, the subject generally follows immediately after the verb. Only a few adverbs may occur in front of the finite verb in addition to the subject, which is then no longer the second element in the clause: (1) a. Han bare gikk sin vei. he just walked his way He just walked away. b. Han nærmest kastet seg ut fra balkongen. he closest threw himself out from balcony.the He almost threw himself out from the balcony. In declarative main clauses almost any element can occur in front of the tensed verb in the Finite field: Prefield Midfield Backfield x Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial Han fant faktisk pengene under senga. he found actually money.the under bed.the Under senga fant han faktisk pengene. Faktisk fant han pengene under senga. Pengene fant han faktisk under senga.

14 Ut kastet han ballen. out threw he ball.the In most cases we find the subject in the prefield (in 60 70% of the cases). It is a little less common to find an adverbial in here (20 30% of the cases) or the object (5 10% of the cases). Even less common is a predicative complement or a particle in this position. Light pronominal objects, generally personal pronouns such as meg me, deg you, seg himself/herselft/itself, henne her, ham him, and den it can be placed in front of the adverbial in the Midfield, even though they should be placed in the object position in the Backfield. But this is only possible if the verb position in the Backfield is empty. If these light pronouns occur in their regular object position, they get specific emphatic stress. Prefield Midfield x Finite Subject Light pronoun field Backfield Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial Han hjelper aldri sin kone. he helps never his wife Han hjelper henne aldri. he helps her never Han hjelper aldri henne. Han har aldri hjulpet sin kone. he has never helped his wife Han har aldri hjulpet henne. he has never helped her Main clauses can be combined with conjunctions such as e.g. og and and men but. If the subject is the same in both clauses, it may be deleted in the second clause: (2) a. Han så henne og han hjalp henne. he saw her and he helped her

15 b. Han så henne og hjalp henne. he saw her and helped her Negative main clauses Negative main clauses have the same word order as affirmative (positive) main clauses. The negation ikke not is positioned in the adverbial field in the Midfield and is generally the last of the adverbials in this position. Words expressing something absolutive, such as noensinne ever normally cannot occur in positive clauses. They must always co occur with the negation or in an interrogative clause: (1) Han har aldri noensinne sett henne. * Han har noensinne sett henne. he has never ever seen her he has ever seen her Direct questions Like English, Norwegian has two types of questions: 1. Yes/no questions: (1) Er Peter her? Ja. / Nei. is Peter here yes no 2. Questions that are introduces by a wh-word such as hvem who, hva what, når when, hvor where, hvordan how, etc. (2) Hvem banker på døra? Anne / Espen /... who knocks on door.the Anne Espen... Who is knocking on the door? Anne/Espen/ Yes/no-questions Direct questions that can be answered by yes or no are always introduced by a finite verb. The word order is the same as for main clauses, only without the prefield: Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial Fant han pengene? found he money.the

16 Skal jeg kanskje hente boka til deg? shall I maybe fetch book.the to you Er hun ikke kommet ennå? is she not come yet When several yes/no questions are coordinated by the conjunction eller or, one can often leave something out in the second question. There are two typical cases: 1. If the second clause is a negation of the first one the negation ei not is used: (1) Er han glad eller ei? (= Er han glad eller er han ikke glad?) is he happy or not is he happy or is he not happy 2. If only one constituent distinguishes the second clause from the first one, and the rest of the sentence can be reconstructed from the first sentence: (2) Skal jeg gjøre det eller Stina? (=Skal jeg gjøre det eller skal Stina gjøre det?) shall I do it or Stina (= Should I do it or should Stina do it? ) Wh-questions Norwegian direct wh questions are always introduced by a wh word (hvem who, hva what, når when, hvor where, hvordan how, etc.) or a phrase that contains a whword (hvilke bøker which books, hva for ei bok which book, etc.). The word order is the same as for topicalised main clauses. (1) a. Hva har du kjøpt? what have you bought What did you buy? b. Hvilken bok har du kjøpt? which book have you bought c. Hva for ei bok har du kjøpt? what for a book have you bought What kind of book did you buy? Imperatives

17 An imperative main clause generally expresses a demand or an order. (1) a. Åpn døra! open door.the Open the door! b. Ikke vær så dum! not be so stupid Don t be so stupid! The clause starts with the verb in its basic form. The rest of the clause has the same word order as main clauses. However, if the imperative is negated, the negation is generally in the initial position, as in English. The subject or the receiver of the order is normally left out. Verbs ending in a vowel have the same form in infinitive and imperative, e.g. gå go, se see, stå stand, etc. Verbs ending in a consonant form the imperative by deleting the ending -e from the infinitive, e.g. kjøp-e kjøpe, sov-e sleep, spis-e eat THE SUBORDINATE CLAUSE The subordinate clause is a part of a main clause. It can have the function of subject, object, adverbial, predicative, and it can also be the modifier of a noun. (1) a. [ At han var syk ] var åpenbart. Subject that he was ill was obvious That he was ill was obvious. (1) b. Han visste ikke [ hvem hun hadde bedt]. Object he knew not who she had invited He didn t know who she had invited. (1) c. Han kom fram [ da hun allerede hadde dratt ]. Adverbial he came forward when she already had left He arrived when she had already left. (1) d. Planen min er [ at vi møter henne på stasjonen ]. Predicative plan.the my is that we meet her on station.the My plan is that we meet her at the station. (1) e. Jeg kjøpte et hus [ som var rødt ]. Modifier of noun I bought a house that was red

18 I bought a house that was red. Norwegian subordinate clauses normally have an introducing element (often a subjunction) and a special word order (unlike English). The first position is often empty. The second position (where the finite verb is found in main clauses) is the place for the introducing element, and the finite verb as well as other verbs are positioned in the Verb field. Compare the word order in main clauses to that of subordinate clauses. (2) Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial a. Main clause: Eva har ikke lest boka mi ennå. a. Subordinate clause: Eva has not read Eva hasn t read my book yet. at Eva ikke that Eva not that Eva hasn t read my book yet har lest has read book.the my boka mi book.the my yet ennå b. Main clause: Har Eva ikke lest boka mi ennå? b. Subordinate clause: has Eva not read Hasn t Eva read my book yet? om Eva ikke if Eva not if Eva hasn t read my book yet har lest has read book.the my boka mi book.the my yet yet ennå c. Main clause: Boka mi har Eva ikke lest ennå. c. Subordinate clause: book.the my has Eva not read yet My book, Eva hasn t read yet. (boka mi) som Eva ikke (book-the my) which Eva not (my book) which Eva hasn t read yet har lest has read yet ennå Note that the subject is always in the position after the introducing element. Note also that the finite verb is placed after negation (and other sentence adverbials). yet

19 Nominal clauses Nominal clauses have the same functions as noun phrases. Nominal clauses are primarily at-clauses and interrogative clauses. Like noun phrases they occur primarily as subjects, objects, or complements of prepositions. (1) a. [ At Karl kom på festen] var hyggelig. Subject that Karl came on party.the was nice It was nice that Karl came to the party. (1) b. Jeg lurer på [ hvem som kom på festen]. Object I wonder on who that came on party.the I wonder who came to the party. (1) c. Jeg stolte på [ at hun skulle komme på festen]. Prepositional complement I counted on that she should come on party.the I counted on that she would come to the party At-clauses In at-clauses the introducing element is sometimes missing. (1) Jeg tror [ (at) hun kan det]. I think (that) she knows it I think (that) she knows it. The word order in at-clauses is normally the same as in other subordinate clauses, but it may sometimes also show the same order as in main clauses. (2) a. Han meddelte at hun ikke kan komme. he announced that she not can come He announced that she can t come. (2) b. Hun meddelte at hun kan ikke komme. she announced that she can not come She announced that she can t come Indirect wh-questions Indirect wh-questions correspond to ordinary main clause questions, where you ask for something with words like who, what, when, where, how, why (in Norwegian hvem, hva, når, hvor, hvordan, hvorfor). (1) a. Han visste ikke [ hva han skulle gjøre]. cf. main Hva skulle han gjøre?

20 clause: he knew not what he should do what should he do He didn t know what to do. What should he do? (1) b. Jeg lurer på [ når du er født]. cf. main clause: Når er du født? I wonder on when you are born When are you born I wonder when you were born. When were you born? If the questioned element is the subject, som that is obligatorily inserted after the question word. (2) Jeg lurer på hvem som har stjålet sykkelen min. I wonder on who that has stolen bike.the my I wonder who stole my bike Indirect Yes/no-questions Indirect yes/no-questions correspond to ordinary main clause yes/no-questions. The introducing element is om if, or sometimes hvorvidt whether or i tilfelle in case. main (1) Jeg lurer på [ om du har dusjet]. cf. Har du dusjet? clause: I wonder on whether you have showered have you showered Have you taken a I wonder whether you have taken a shower. shower? Relative clauses Relative clauses are typically found inside noun phrases, following a noun, a proper name, or a pronoun. In Norwegian they are normally introduced by som that, but in formal written language a wh-phrase, (like hvilket which and hvis whose ) also occur. (1) a. Huset [ som står der borte ] tilhører biskopen. house.the that stands there away belongs-to bishop.the The house over there belongs to the bishop. (1) b. Mannen [ som står der ] er min bror. man.the who stands there is my brother The man standing over there is my brother. (1) c. Vi snakket med ham som politiet jagde. we talked with him that police.the chased

21 We talked to the guy that the police chased. If the noun expresses time or location, the relative clause may also be introduced with når, da when, then, hvor, der where, there, dit there-to. (2) a. sommeren [ da allting hendte] summer.the when everything happened the summer that everything happened (2) b. huset [ der / hvor jeg bor] house.the there / where I live the house where I live Relative clauses with som are also found in the so-called cleft construction. (3) a. Det var Eva [ som først kom på idéen]. it was Eva who first came on idea.the It was Eva who first came up with the idea. (3) b. Det var den idéen [ som Eva kom på]. it was that idea that Eva came on That was the idea that Eva came up with. Relative clauses can also be used to modify the whole clause (instead of a noun phrase). In such cases the relative pronoun hvilket which can be used, as well as noe som something which. (4) a. Han spiller piano om morgenen, hvilket irriterer meg. he plays piano in morning.the which irritates me He plays the piano in the morning, which irritates me. (4) b. Naboen har fått ny bil, noe som gjør meg misunnelig. neighbour.the has got new car something which makes me envious My neighbour has got a new car, and that makes me envious Adverbial subordinate clauses Adverbial subordinate clauses express time, location, condition, cause, intention, comparison, and other similar relations. They function as adverbials, and they are introduced by adverbs or subjunctions like når/da when, der there, hvis if, fordi because, ettersom because, since, for å in order to, enn than, som as. Compare 3.7. (1) a. [ Når du kommer fram], har du kirken til høyre.

22 when you come forward have you church.the to right When you get there, you have the church to your right. (1) b. [ Hvis du vil], kan du hjelpe henne. if you want can you help her If you want to, you can help her. (1) c. Vi ble slitne [ ettersom det var veldig varmt]. we became tired as it was very hot We got tired as it was very hot. (1) d. Han er eldre [ enn jeg er]. he is older than I am He is older than I am. (1) e. Han er like gammel [ som jeg er]. he is as old as I am He is as old as I am. Conditional clauses are normally introduced by the subjunction hvis if, but they may also lack it. In such cases they are formed like questions. de (2) Har du kjøpt må du betal d = H n e en. vis h yo bough m yo it pay it if ave u t ust u If you have bought it, you must pay for it. du har kjøpt yo u h ave bough t de n it må m ust du betal d e en. yo pay it u If you have bought it, you must pay for it. Adverbial clauses that are placed in the first position of their main clause, are often followed by the word så so in front of the finite verb. The use of så contrasts with English. (3) a. Når dere kommer, så kan vi begynne spise. when you arrive so can we begin eat When you arrive, we can begin eating. (3) b. Hvis du vil, så kan du bade. if you want so can you bathe If you want to, you may bathe NON-FINITE CLAUSES

23 Non-finite clauses are clauses without a finite verb. The verb is either an infinitive or a participle. (1) a. Det er hyggelig [ å spille bridge]. it is nice to play bridge It is nice to play bridge. (1) b. en [ dårlig skrevet ] artikkel a badly written article a badly written article Infinitival clauses In infinitival clauses the verb is in the infinitive form. Such clauses are normally introduced by the infinitival marker å to. They never contain a subject, but are otherwise very similar to subordinate clauses introduced by at that. (1) a. Vi begynte [ å forstå hans problem ]. we began to understand his problem We began to understand his problem. (1) b. De lengtet etter [ å reise til kysten]. they longed after to travel to coast.the They longed for travelling to the coast. (1) c. [ Å bli ranet] er en fæl opplevelse. to get mugged is a terrible experience To be mugged is a terrible experience. The infinitival marker is sometimes missing, for instance in the beginning of a clause and after negation. (2) a. [ (Å) ] studere latin har jeg alltid drømt om. to study Latin have I always dreamt about I have always dreamt of studying Latin. (2) b. Du trenger ikke (å) lese boka. you need not to read book.the You don t have to read the book. The infinitival marker å is always missing in the so-called object with infinitive construction. (3) Vi hørte jentene [ synge bak låven].

24 we heard girls.the sing behind barn.the We heard the girls singing behind the barn Participial clauses In participial clauses the verb is either a present or a past participle. These clauses are normally used attributively (in front of a noun). They may contain adverbials, and also other elements that are not allowed in English. (1) a. en [ dårlig skrevet ] artikkel a badly written article a badly written article (1) b. en [ for meg svært opprivende ] hendelse a for me very agonizing event an event that was very agonizing for me 1.12 SPECIAL CONSTRUCTIONS Keine Daten gefunden! Topicalisation Topicalisation is the traditional term for constructions where subjects occur in the first position of the clause. It does however not apply to wh-elements of any kind. Normally, an adverbial or an object is placed in the first position. (1) a. I morgen skal vi gå på kino. in morning shall we go on cinema Tomorrow we will go to the cinema. (1) b. Bak bilen fant jeg en bøtte. behind car.the found I a bucket Behind the car I found a bucket. (1) c. Denne boka har hun ikke lest. this book.the has she not read This book she hasn t read. (1) d. Glad ble hun ikke. happy became she not She did not get happy.

25 (1) e. At vi kommer vet Karl allerede. that we come knows Karl already Karl already knows that we are coming. Note that the subject occurs directly after the verb when something is topicalised. One reason for topicalising an element is that this element is already known by the hearer and the speaker. Another reason is to emphasize the element Existential sentences If the subject contains new information it may immediately follow the non-finite verb and the word det, there is placed in the subject position or in the first position. (1) a. Det kan ha vært ei flue i suppa. it may have been a fly in soup.the There may have been a fly in the soup. (1) b. Det hadde oppstått en krangel mellom brødrene. it had occurred a fight between brothers.the There occurred a fight between the brothers. The word det it behaves as an ordinary subject. For instance it is placed directly after the verb if something is topicalised. (2) a. I suppa kan det ha vært ei flue. in soup.the may it have been a fly In the soup, there may have been a fly. (2) b. Mellom brødrene hadde det oppstått en krangel. between brothers.the had it occurred a fight Between the brothers there had occurred a fight Passives A sentence may often have both an active and a passive voice. Both voices express the same event, but the element that is the subject in the active voice is suppressed in the passive voice. It may be missing or it may be expressed in an av-phrase (a by-phrase). (1) a. Active: Mannen åpnet vinduet. man.the opened window.the The man opened the window.

26 (1) b. Passive: Vinduet ble åpnet ( av mannen ). window.the became opened by man.the The window was opened by the man. There are three sorts of passives in Norwegian. Either one of the auxiliaries bli become or være be is used, or the verb takes on the s-ending. The most common passive is the one with the auxiliary bli become, which has a wide range of uses, and can be used freely in all tenses. (2) a. Bøkene blir solgt på auksjon. books.the become sold on auction The books are sold on aution. (2) b. Bøkene ble solgt på auksjon. books.the became sold on auction The books were sold on aution. (2) c. Bøkene har blitt solgt på auksjon. books.the have become sold on auction The books are being sold on aution. Passives with the auxiliary være be are less common. The meaning of the værepassive often depends on the meaning of the main verb. Consider the following example, where the meaning corresponds to that of the example in the perfect above: (3) Bøkene er solgt på auksjon. books.the are sold on auction The books have been sold on aution. The s-passive is normally only used in the infinitive or the present tense. (4) a. Bøkene selges på auksjon. books.the sell.pass on auction The books are sold on auction. (4) b. Bøkene sendes for å selges på auksjon. books.the send.pass for to sell.pass on auction The books are sent to be sold on auction Middles

27 Norwegian does not have middles of the sort found in English. Sentences like This book reads easily are translated with an adjectival construction: (1) a. Denne boka er lett å lese. this book.the is easy to read This book reads easily. (1) b. Denne boka går det ( lett ) å lese. this book.the goes it ( easy ) to read This book reads easily Free word order (Scrambling) Norwegian, just like English, lacks the kind of free word order often called scrambling, which is typical of German and Dutch Weak pronouns, clitics, and object shift Norwegian possesses a specific construction named object shift, which moves unstressed object pronouns to a position in front of the negation (or other sentence adverbials). This is not possible with ordinary noun phrases, but only with pronouns. (1) a. Jeg så ikke Karl. Ordinary object: no object shift I saw not Karl I didn t see Karl. (1) b. Jeg så ham ikke. Pronominal object: object shift occurs I saw him not I didn t see him. This movement is only found if there is nothing (or only a verb particle) in between the negation (sentence adverbial) and the object. If there is a verb, a preposition or the like in between, the object stays in its normal position. (2) a. Jeg tok den ikke opp. Particle does not intervene: object shift I took it not up I didn t take it up. (2) b. Jeg har ikke sett ham. Verb intervenes: no object shift I have not seen him I haven t see him. (2) c. Jeg så ikke på henne. Preposition intervenes: no object shift

28 I saw not on her I didn t look at her COORDINATION AT THE CLAUSE LEVEL Norwegian uses og and, eller or, and men but in the same way as English to coordinate main clauses. (1) a. Jeg går og Lise sykler. I walk and Lise bikes I m walking and Lise is running a bike. (2) b. Ole er sjelden glad, men Kari ler av alt. Ole is seldom happy but Kari laughs of everything Ole is seldom happy but Kari laughs at everything. 2 THE PHRASES Words belonging to different word classes function syntactically as heads in phrases. A phrase consists of a head (a verb, a noun, an adjective, an adverb, or a preposition) which alone or together with optional modifiers constitute a verb phrase (run, wash the car), a noun phrase (John, Mary's sister from Utah, peace in our time), an adjective phrase (red, like his father), an adverb phrase (always, almost never), or a prepositional phrase (at my door, with Mary). The modifying phrases may occur before and/or after the head word, depending on language and phrasal type. In many respects, the phrases in the Germanic languages have very similar properties. The overall structure of phrases is the same in Norwegian and in English. 2.1 THE VERB PHRASE The verb phrase has a verb as its head: He bought a book yesterday. This phrase constitutes the last part of the sentence, following the sentential adverbials. In German and Dutch verb phrases the verb is in the final position (a), whereas the verb phrase in Norwegian (b) and the other Germanic languages is verb initial: (1) a. Ich muss morgens im Warenhaus einen Mantel gekaufen. b. Jeg må kjøpe ei kåpe på kjøpesenteret i morgen. I must buy a coat on department.store.the in morning I must buy a coat at the department store tomorrow.

29 In main clauses, however, the tensed verb (auxiliary or main verb) appears in the finite (second) position ( 1.3) rather than in the verb phrase in all the Germanic languages (except English) (c-d): c. Nå har han nok gått på toget. now has he probably gone on train.the He has probably got on the train now. d. Nå gikk han på toget. now went he on train.the He got on the train now. Norwegian differs from English in being a verb-second language. In Norwegian, the tensed verb (auxiliary or main verb) always appears in the finite (second) position in main clauses. This means that the tensed verb precedes sentence adverbials and negation. Examples (c-d) also illustrate the fact that the tensed verb precedes the subject (han) in topicalised sentences The order of elements in the verb phrase The order of elements in the Norwegian verb phrase is given in the scheme below. If there is an indirect object, this follows next, preceding a position where we find the subject predicative complement, the direct object or the associate subject; see the last example below for a case with both an indirect object and an associate subject. The object predicative complement and the infinitive of the object with infinitive constructions share a position, followed by a field for bound content adverbials (Han bor i Lund he lives in Lund ) and prepositional objects (Han ser på henne he is looking at her ). Finally there is a field for free content adverbials and postponed phrases. Verb Ind. obj. Direct obj, Associate subj, Subj predicative Obj predicative, Infinitive clause Bound adverbials, Prep. objects Free adverbials, Postponed phrases bør gi ham ei bok på fødselsdagen should give him a book at birthday.the male huset rødt paint house.the red se ham komme

30 see him come gå til byen snarest go to town.the immediately overrekkes henne nobelprisen av kongen is.given her Nobel Prize.the by king.the Particles (see 2.1.4) allow two different locations, one immediately before the verb and one immediately after. Verb Particle Direct object, Associate subject, Subj predicative Particle Obj predicative, Infinitive clause Bound adverbials, Prep. objects Free adverbials, Postponed phrases hogge av hodet med kniv cut off head.the with knife hogge hodet av med kniv cut head.the off with knife hoppe opp ei katt på bordet framfor meg jump up a cat on table.the in-front-of me hoppe ei katt opp på bordet framfor meg jump a cat up on table.the in-front-of me ta fra ham boka snarest take from him book.the immediately ta boka fra ham snarest take book.the from him immediately

31 2.1.2 Be and Have All the Germanic languages make extensive use of verbs corresponding closely to the English be (Norwegian være) and have (Norwegian ha). Compare English The book is on the table with Norwegian Boka er på bordet. As a main verb, be is also used as a copula (He is sick, Han er syk). As auxiliaries, be and have are used to express voice, tense, and aspect (He was killed, He has read the book, He is reading the book). In Norwegian, have is generally used to express the perfect tense and the pluperfect tense with all kinds of verbs (a-b), but in some dialects, be may be used with intransitive verbs indicating a change of state (c): (1) a. Marie Curie har fått nobelprisen to ganger. Marie Curie has received Nobel prize.the two times Marie Curie has received the Nobel Prize twice. b. Leiv Eriksson har dratt til Amerika. Leiv Eriksson has gone to America Leiv Eriksson has gone to America. c. Leiv Eriksson er dratt til Amerika. Leiv Eriksson is gone to America Leiv Eriksson has gone to America. Be may also be used with a past participle as a passive auxiliary when the passive expresses the result of an action or a completed transition (d) d. Jomsvikingene var tatt til fange av nordmennene. Jomsvikings.the were taken to capture by Norwegians.the The Jomsvikings were captured by the Norwegians. However, bli become is more common as a passive auxiliary; see In addition, være is used as the copula; when the predicative is an adjective or a past participle, it agrees with the subject in gender and number: (2) a. Han var syk igår. he was ill yesterday b. De var syke igår. they were ill yesterday

32 Whereas Norwegian sometimes allows the used of the auxiliary be in forming the perfect tense and the pluperfect tense with intransitive verbs (as in (c) above), English always uses the auxiliary have, irrespectively of whether the verb is transitive or intransitive Reflexive verbs A reflexive pronoun may be the object of a transitive verb, as in He killed himself. In this case, the reflexive pronoun may be replaced by another pronoun or a full noun phrase. However, all the Germanic languages (except English) have reflexive verbs, a combination of an intransitive verb + a reflexive. They have a meaning of their own, and often correspond to one verb in English: consider the Norwegian Jeg vegrer meg for å hjelpe ham, where meg is the reflexive, which corresponds to the English I refuse to help him without a reflexive. Some verbs are only used together with a reflexive (oppføre seg behave, innfinne seg appear ); others are either intransitive or reflexive (angre (seg) regret ). A third group of reflexive verbs can occur with an ordinary object instead of the reflexive, but with a different meaning (a -b): (1) a. Han vendte seg til henne. he turned REFL to her He turned towards her. b. Han vendte bladet. he turned page.the He turned the page. With respect to word order, the reflexive behaves like a pronoun. Thus it must precede a particle or particles (see ): Han slet seg ut he wore himself out. As English does not have reflexive verbs, the intransitive verb + reflexive combination in Norwegian generally corresponds to one verb in English Verb particles Norwegian particle constructions correspond closely in almost all ways to English ones. This is illustrated in (a-c): (1) a. kaste opp (maten) throw up (food.the) throw up the food b. gi opp (kampen)

33 give up (fight.the) capitulate c. kle på seg (ei kåpe) dress on REFL (a coat) put on a coat Just as in English, the position of the particle within the verb phrase depends on the form of the object. If there is a nominal object, the particle may either come before or after it (d-e). However, if the object is a pronoun, the particle must come beforethe object (f-g): d. kaste opp maten e. kaste maten opp throw up food.the up throw up the food f. *kaste opp den g. kaste den opp throw up it up throw it up However, there are many constructions whose meanings are not matched in English and which must be learned like words: h. dele ut nobelprisen share out Nobel Prize.the award the Nobel Prize i. Søknaden gikk igjennom. application.the went through The application got through. Often the combination verb + particle corresponds to a prefixed verb with the same (j-k) or a related (l-m) meaning: j. Sjefen måtte legge ned bedriften. k. Sjefen måtte nedlegge bedriften boss.the had-to lay down down-lay company.the The boss had to shut down the company. l. Han streket under ordet. he lined under word.the He underlined the word.

34 m. Han understreket ordets betydning. he underlined word.the s meaning He emphasized the meaning of the word. With respect to the position of the particle in relation to nominal and pronominal objects, English and Norwegian are the same The object In Norwegian as in English, the object is an obligatory nominal or sentential complement of certain verbs. It may be a noun phrase, The vikings were Scandinavian seafarers, a pronoun, Many nations feared them, an infinitival clause, Children like to hear fairy tales, or an embedded clause, The Jomsvikings said that they were content to die. Some verbs take two objects, one indirect and one direct object: The king gave her the prize. In this case, the first object (her) expresses the one who gets what is expressed by the second object (the prize). In Norwegian, the object either follows the main verb, or it appears in the first position (a-b): (1) a. Klostrene brygget øl i middelalderen. monasteries.the brewed beer in Middle Ages.the The monasteries brewed beer in the Middle Ages. b. Gudene ofret vikingene til ved blot. gods.the sacrificed vikings.the to at blot The vikings made offerings to the gods at the blot. In main clauses, nominal objects follow sentence adverbials, including negation (c), whereas pronominal objects come before such adverbials (d). However, all kinds of objects come before content adverbials such as adverbials of time, place, and manner (e): c. Han holdt ikke kniven i hånda. he held not knife.the in hand.the He didn't hold the knife in his hand. d. Han holdt den ikke i hånda. he held it not in hand.the He didn't hold it in his hand. e. Vikingene ofret gaver til gudene hvert år.

35 vikings.the sacrificed gifts to gods.the every year The vikings sacrificed gifts to the gods every year. When the object is questioned, it appears in the first position (f): f. Hva syntes jomsvikingene om å dø? what thought Jomsvikings.the about to die What did the Jomsvikings think about dying? Object pronouns bear the specific oblique case in Norwegian, cf. ham him, henne her (ham is mostly used in writing; in speech most people would use han). The corresponding subject forms are han he, hun she. For den it there is only one form. Topicalised constructions with non-subjeccts in the initial position (such as (b)), are much more common in Norwegian than in English Predicative complements A predicative complement often expresse a quality or attribute of the subject or the object, or it tells us the identity of the subject or the object. It may be a noun phrase (a), an adjective phrase (b), a prepositional phrase (c), or a subordinate clause (d): (1) a. Alfred Nobel var kjemiker. Alfred Nobel was chemist Alfred Nobel was a chemist. b. Marie Curie er svært berømt. Marie Curie is very famous Marie Curie is very famous. c. De valgte Bush til president. they elected Bush to president They elected Bush as president. d. Ett resultat er at prisene vil stige. one result is that prices.the will raise One result is that the prices will raise. When the predicative complement is an adjective (or a past participle), it agrees with the word it is a complement to (subject or object) in number and gender (ef):

36 e. Eventyret var nifst. fairy tale.the was scary-sg.neut. The fairy tale was scary. f. Jomsvikingene var fryktløse. Jomsvikings.the were fearless-pl. The Jomsvikings were fearless. The predicative complement of the subject follows all verbs, but precedes content adverbials (g). When combined with particle verbs, the predicative comes between the verb and the particle (h): g. Han hadde vært syk igår. he had been ill yesterday He had been ill yesterday. h. Den ser fin ut. it looks nice PART It looks nice. English and Norwegian are very similar at this point. However, in English, there is no visible agreement in number and gender between the predicative complement and the subject or the object Content adverbials In general, Norwegian is like English with respect to its use of adverbials in the sentence. Content adverbials modify the event expressed in the sentence with respect to manner, place, time, condition, etc. They may modify the verb (a), an adjective (b), or another adverbial (c): (1) a. Han kjører alltid forsiktig. he drives always carefully He always drives carefully. b. Hun er svært tjukk. she is very fat She is very fat. c. Han røyker ganske mye. he smokes quite a lot He smokes quite a lot.

37 Norwegian has two types of content adverbials, depending on how closely bound the adverbial is to the verb: bound content adverbials (d), and free content adverbials (e). In sentences that include both, the bound content adverbial precedes the free content adverbial, as illustrated in (d), where the underlined elements are bound content adverbials, and imorgen is a free content adverbial: d. Jeg vil snakke med deg om dette imorgen. I want talk with you about this tomorrow I want to talk to you about this tomorrow. e. Han savnet henne allerede. he missed her already He missed her already. However, in contrast to English, free content adverbials may appear to the left of the main verb in Norwegian: f. Han har i noen situasjoner ikke snakket sant. he has in some situations not spoken truly He has in some situations not told the truth. When there are several free content adverbials in the verb phrase, their order depends on the function of the adverbial in the communicative structure of the clause. When the adverbial is a subordinate clause, it is placed after other adverbials (g). In addition, adverbials denoting time or cause usually follow other free adverbials (h). Finally, whereas free adverbials that refer to time, location, or cause usually are found after the bound adverbials, free adverbials denoting manner, duration, and iteration often come before bound adverbials (i): g. Jon arbeidet på kvelden uten at sjefen viste om det. Jon worked at night.the without that boss.the knew about it Jon worked in the evening without his boss knowing it. h. Han hadde vært her da. he had been here then He had been here then. i. De hadde sett surt på ham. they had looked angrily at him They had looked angrily at him. 2.2 THE NOUN PHRASE