Å være = To be (Uke 1)

Godt nytt år, og takk for det gamle!

The Verb of the Week for Week 1 is å være, "to be". Like its English counterpart, å være has some unexpected forms.

Unlike English, though, there is only one present-tense form. English has "I am", "you are", "he is", and so on, but in Norwegian all pronouns use the same form: thus, jeg er, hun er, de er, and so on.

jeg er = I am (present tense)
du har vært = you (sing.) have been (present perfect)
han var = he was (past)
hun hadde vært = she had been (past perfect)
vi vil være = we will be (future)
dere vil ha vært = they will have been (future perfect)
de vil være = you (pl.) would be (present conditional)
de vil ha vært = you (pl.) would have been (perfect conditional)

Here are some sentences using å være --

Jeg er glad for å være hjemme.
I am glad to be home.

Hvor er Jens? Han var her for et øyeblikk siden!
Where is Jens? He was here a moment ago!

Det er ikke min hårbørste.
That isn’t my hairbrush.

Vær forsiktig når du skal krysse gata!
Be careful when you cross the street!