Å holde = To hold (Uke 42)

En gamle 2CV. (Foto: Egil Eriksson)

Å holde is the Verb of the Week. It means "to hold, to keep". Generally, it is a transitive verb, one that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects -- I don't just hold, for instance, I hold the book. Å holde also has an intransitive form, meaning "to suffice". It is also found with prepositions in a number of Norwegian idiomatic uses.

jeg holder = I hold (present tense)
jeg har holdt = I have held (present perfect tense)
jeg holdt = I held (past)
jeg hadde holdt = I had held (past perfect)
jeg vil holde = I will hold (future)
jeg vil ha holdt = I will have held (future perfect)
jeg ville holde = I would hold (present conditional)
jeg ville ha holdt = I would have held (perfect conditional)

hold an = hold on (stop)
hold av = to love, be fond of
hold igjen = to hold back, restrain, keep shut
hold for = to consider to be, take as being
hold med = to agree, side with
hold opp (med) = to cease, stop
hold opp = to hold up, rob
hold til = to live, stay, have lodgings

Bussen kommer. Hold pengene klar.
The bus is coming. Have your money ready.

Bibliotekaren skal holde av boka for meg til i morgen.
The librarian will hold the book for me until tomorrow.

De holdt et møte, men ingenting ble avgjort.
They held a meeting, but nothing was decided.

Hold fast! Veien er humpete.
Hold on! The road is bumpy.

Inversjon = Inversion

In simple sentences in Norwegian, the subject is placed first, as in English:

Det regner i dag.
It is raining today.

Jeg snakker litt norsk.
I speak a little Norwegian.

Kjell skal ski i ettermiddag.
Kjell shall ski this afternoon.

Vi må gå nå.
We must go now.

Han elsket henne.
He loved her.

But if the sentence begins with any part of the predicate -- e.g. an object, a place or time adverb -- the order of subject and verb is inverted. This is also found in English, but not to the same extent as in Norwegian. (Note also that the comma is less frequent in Norwegian than it might be in English.)

I dag regner det.
Today it is raining.

Nå kan jeg snakke litt norsk.
Now I can speak a little Norwegian.

I ettermiddag skal Kjell ski.
In the afternoon, Kjell shall ski.

Nå må vi gå.
Now must we go.

Tydeligvis elsket han henne.
Obviously, he loved her.

Beginning with a verb turns the sentence into a question -- a topic for another post.

Å skje = To happen (Uke 41)

Foto: bcostin.

The Verb of the Week is å skje, "to happen, occur, take place".

det skjer = it happens (present tense)
det skjedde = it happened (past tense)
det har skjedd = it has happened (past participle)

Here are some sentences using å skje --

Hva vil skje hvis jeg trykker på denne knappen?
What will happen if I press this button?

Au! Dette skjer altfor ofte. Jeg må få reparert trinnet.
Ouch! This happens too often. I must get the step fixed.

Hva skjedde etterpå?
What happened then?

"Det var en gang en Cherrox"

Å vite = To know (Uke 38)

The Verb of the Week is å vite, "to know". Related to the Latin "videre", "to see/observe, understand", it means "to know" as in the sense of knowing facts. (See å kjenne for knowing, being familiar with, a person or a song.)

Let's conjugate this irregular verb:

hun vet = she knows (present tense)
hun har visst = she has known (present perfect)
hun visste = she knew (past tense)
hun hadde visst = she had known (past perfect)
hun vil vite = she will know (future)
hun vil ha visst = she will have known (future perfect)
hun ville vite = she would know (conditional present tense)
hun ville ha visst = she would have known (conditional perfect tense)

And use it in a few sentences:

Jeg vet at Lars bor i denne gaten, men jeg husker ikke nummeret.
I know that Lars lives on this street, but I can’t remember the number.

Før han var ti visste Trond navnene og hovedstedene av alle amerikanske statene.
By the time he was ten, Trond knew the names and capitals of all the American states.

Egentlig har jeg visst om Ragnhild og Per i minst en måned nå.
Actually, I’ve known about Ragnhild and Per for at least a month now.

Å spille = To play (Uke 35)

"Plastposen" (1986)

Å spille is the Verb of the Week. It means "to play," as in to play a musical instrument, a role, a trick, specific games, and so on. (For something like children playing, use å leke.)

du spiller = you (sing.) play (present tense)
du har spilt = you have played (present perfect tense)
du spilte = you played (past tense)
du har spilt = you have played (past perfect tense)
du vil spille = you will play (future tense)
du vil har spille = you will have played (future perfect)

La oss spille sjakk! Okay, hva med dam, da?
Let's play chess! Okay, then, how about checkers?

Hva var den filmen, den hvor Sverre Anker Ousdal spilte en bankraner?
What was that movie, the one where Sverre Anker Ousdal played a bankrobber?

Trond har spilt valdhornet i tre år nå. Han blir veldig flink.
Trond has played the french horn for three years now. He's getting quite good.

Hva spiller på Eldorado i kveld?
What's playing at the Eldorado this evening?

Å hete = To be named, called (Uke 34)

"Håkon den Gode og bøndene ved blotet på Mære" by Peter Nicolai Arbo (1831-1892). Haakon I, also known as Haakon the Good, was king of Norway from 934 to 961. Image source: Wikipedia

The Verb of the Week is "å hete", to be named or called. (For calling someone -- out the window perhaps -- use "å kalle".) This regular verb conjugates quite simply:

jeg heter = I am named/called (present tense)
jeg har hett = I have been named/called (present perfect tense)
jeg het = I was named/called (past tense)
jeg hadde hett = I had been named/called (past perfect)
jeg vil hete = I will be named/called (future)
jeg vil ha hett = I will have been named/called (future perfect)
jeg ville hete = I would be named/called (present conditional)
jeg ville ha hett = I would have been named/called (perfect conditional)

Here are some sentences using "å hete" --

Kom og se vår ny båt! Hun heter «Kronprinsessen».
Come and see our new boat! She is called “The Crown Princess”.

Da jeg var liten, jeg hadde en hund som het Sparky.
When I was a kid, I had a dog named Sparky.

Det har faktisk vært tolv konger av Norge som har hett Haakon.
In fact, twelve kings of Norway have been named Haakon.

Babyen skal hete Marius, etter sin oldefar.
The baby will be called Marius, after his great-grandfather.