Å bli = To be, to become (Uke 31)

Vil du bli millionær?

The Verb of the Week is å bli, one of the most common verbs in Norwegian. It can mean "to be, to become, to remain/stay".

The alternatives below are some of the older forms allowed in bokmål; the first listed are the most common.

jeg blir = I am (present tense)
jeg er/har blitt = I have been (present perfect tense)
jeg ble, blei = I was (past tense)
jeg var/har blitt = I had been (past perfect)
jeg vil bli, blive = I will be (future)
jeg vil være blitt = I will have been (future perfect)
jeg ville bli, blive = I would be (present conditional)
jeg ville være blitt = I would have been (perfect conditional)

Hvis du skal bli med til byen, må du først gjøre leksene dine.
If you are going to come to town with me, you must do your lessons first.

Åse sier at hun ikke ønsker å bli en astronaut likevel.
Åse says she doesn't want to be an astronaut after all.

Han ble vel for bare to dager, så vi ikke fikk se ham mye.
He stayed for only two days, so we didn't get to see much of him.

Det blir femti kroner, takk.
That will be fifty kroner, please.

Hvor det er hjerterom, blir det alltid husrom.
Where there is room in the heart, there is room in the house. [The English equivalent is “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”.]