Adjectives · Norwegian grammar A1

Adjective agreement before the noun: en stor bil, et stort hus, store biler#

Formation

An adjective placed before an indefinite noun agrees with it. With an en-word or an ei-word it has its basic form, the dictionary form; with an et-word it takes -t; with a plural noun it takes -e, whatever the gender.

Adjective	en-word	ei-word	et-word	Plural
stor (big)	en stor bil	ei stor seng	et stort hus	store biler
rød (red)	en rød jakke	ei rød veske	et rødt skjørt	røde jakker
hvit (white)	en hvit kopp	ei hvit dør	et hvitt hus	hvite kopper
kald (cold)	en kald dag	ei kald hånd	et kaldt rom	kalde dager
ung (young)	en ung mann	ei ung kvinne	et ungt barn	unge menn

Use

The plural takes -e also after an et-word with no plural ending: to store hus. An ei-word used with en has the same adjective: en stor bok, ei stor bok. Before a definite noun the adjective has another form, which this chapter does not yet set out.

Vi har en stor hage.We have a big garden.
Hun kjøper ei rød veske.She’s buying a red bag.
De bor i et hvitt hus.They live in a white house.
Jeg vil ha et kaldt glass vann.I’d like a cold glass of water.
Vi kjøper nye stoler.We’re buying new chairs.
Ola har store hender.Ola has big hands.

Difference from English

An English adjective never changes: “a big car”, “a big house”, “big cars”. A Norwegian adjective agrees with the noun: en stor bil, et stort hus, store biler.

Common mistakes

~~et stor hus~~ → et stort husWith an et-word, the adjective takes -t.
~~to stor bilder~~ → to store bilderWith a plural noun, the adjective takes -e.

Practise

“Adjectives: stor, stort, store; ser … ut”, Describing a thing: en stor bil, ei stor bok, et stort hus, store biler

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Adjective agreement after være and bli: Huset er stort#

Formation

After være (er) and bli (blir) the adjective agrees with the subject in the same way: the basic form for an en-word or an ei-word, -t for an et-word and -e for a plural.

Subject	Adjective
Bilen er (en-word)	stor
Boka er (ei-word)	stor
Huset er (et-word)	stort
Bilene er, Husene er (plural)	store

Use

Two subjects joined by og count as a plural: Mor og far er glade. Det in a sentence about the weather or a situation is neuter: Det er kaldt i dag. A person addressed as du or spoken of as jeg, han or hun takes the basic form, and vi, dere, de the plural: Vi er sultne.

Kaffen er varm.The coffee is hot.
Vannet er kaldt.The water is cold.
Rommene er store.The rooms are big.
Brødet er godt.The bread is good.
Mor og far er glade.Mum and Dad are happy.
Det er kaldt i dag.It’s cold today.

Difference from English

After “is” and “are” an English adjective has one form: “the house is big”, “the houses are big”. A Norwegian adjective after er agrees with the subject: Huset er stort, Husene er store.

Common mistakes

~~Huset er stor.~~ → Huset er stort.Hus is an et-word: the adjective takes -t.
~~Bilene er ny.~~ → Bilene er nye.With a plural subject, the adjective takes -e.

Practise

“Adjectives: stor, stort, store; ser … ut”, Saying what something is like: Bilen er stor, Huset er stort, Bilene er store

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Adjectives with special forms: billig, norsk, moderne, nytt, grønt, gamle#

Formation

Several groups of adjectives depart from the main pattern:

adjectives in -ig take no -t: et billig hotell, et vanskelig ord;
adjectives of nationality in -sk and adjectives in -isk take no -t: et norsk ord, et kinesisk navn;
adjectives in unstressed -e take no ending at all: moderne, spennende;
an adjective of one syllable ending in a stressed vowel takes -tt: ny, nytt; blå, blått; grå, grått;
a double consonant is written single before -t, and kept before -e: grønn, grønt, grønne;
an adjective ending in a consonant and -t takes no further -t: svart, lett;
an adjective in -el or -en drops its e before the plural -e: gammel, gamle; sulten, sultne; sliten, slitne.

Basic form	et-word	Plural
billig (cheap)	billig	billige
norsk (Norwegian)	norsk	norske
moderne (modern)	moderne	moderne
ny (new)	nytt	nye
grønn (green)	grønt	grønne
svart (black)	svart	svarte
gammel (old)	gammelt	gamle
sulten (hungry)	sultent	sultne

Hotellet er billig.The hotel is cheap.
Det er et norsk ord.It’s a Norwegian word.
Vi har et moderne kjøkken.We have a modern kitchen.
Jeg har et nytt kamera.I have a new camera.
Hun har et grønt skjørt og grønne sko.She has a green skirt and green shoes.
De bor i et gammelt hus.They live in an old house.
Barna er sultne.The children are hungry.

Common mistakes

~~et billigt hotell~~ → et billig hotellAn adjective in -ig takes no -t.
~~et nyt hus~~ → et nytt husAfter a stressed vowel, the ending is -tt.
~~gammele hus~~ → gamle husAn adjective in -el drops its e in the plural.

Practise

“Adjectives: stor, stort, store; ser … ut”, Adjectives with special endings: billig, norsk, ny – nytt, grønn – grønt, gammel – gamle

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Small and other: liten, lita, lite, små; annen, anna, annet, andre#

Formation

Liten (small) and annen (other) have forms of their own: one for each gender in the singular, and a plural.

	en-word	ei-word	et-word	Plural
small	en liten bil	ei lita bok	et lite hus	små biler, bøker, hus
other	en annen bil	ei anna bok	et annet hus	andre biler, bøker, hus

Use

After er the forms of liten are the same: Bilen er liten. Boka er lita. Huset er lite. Husene er små. Annen is used before a noun: en annen is “another”, andre is “other”. An ei-word used with en has the masculine form: en liten bok, en annen bok.

Vi har en liten hund.We have a small dog.
Hun har ei lita stue.She has a small living room.
Barnet er lite.The child is small.
Vi har to små barn.We have two small children.
Har du en annen penn?Do you have another pen?
Jeg vil ha et annet glass.I’d like another glass.

Difference from English

English “small” and “other” never change. Norwegian liten has four forms, and its plural, små, is another word.

Common mistakes

~~to lite barn~~ → to små barnThe plural of liten is små, also with an et-word.
~~et annen hus~~ → et annet husWith an et-word, the form is annet.

Practise

“Adjectives: stor, stort, store; ser … ut”, Small and other: liten, lita, lite, små and annen, annet, andre

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How something looks or sounds: ser … ut, høres … ut#

Formation

English “look” with an adjective is se + adjective + ut, and “sound” with an adjective is høres + adjective + ut: Mora ser glad ut i dag, Navnet høres norsk ut. The adjective agrees with the subject, as after er, and ut is placed at the end, after the adjective. Ikke comes after the verb: Mora ser ikke glad ut.

Subject	looks	sounds
en-word, ei-word	Kaken ser god ut.	Musikken høres bra ut.
et-word	Rommet ser lite ut.	Navnet høres norsk ut.
plural	Jakkene ser varme ut.	Barna høres glade ut.

Du ser sliten ut i dag.You look tired today.
Kjolen ser dyr ut.The dress looks expensive.
Gutten ser sulten ut.The boy looks hungry.
Musikken høres god ut.The music sounds good.
Kaken ser god ut.The cake looks good.

Difference from English

English has no word after the adjective: “She looks happy”. In Norwegian ut is required: Hun ser glad ut i dag.

Common mistakes

~~Hun ser glad.~~ → Hun ser glad ut.Ut is never left out.
~~Huset ser stor ut.~~ → Huset ser stort ut.The adjective agrees with the et-word hus.

In short

Point	Form	Example
before the noun	basic form, -t (et-word), -e (plural)	en stor bil, et stort hus, store biler
after er, blir	the same agreement	Huset er stort.
no -t	-ig, -sk, -isk, -e	et billig hotell, et norsk ord
-tt, one consonant	stressed vowel; double consonant	nytt, grønt
-el, -en	e dropped in the plural	gamle, sultne
liten, annen	liten, lita, lite, små; annen, anna, annet, andre	to små barn
looks, sounds	ser … ut, høres … ut	Hun ser glad ut i dag.

Practise

“Adjectives: stor, stort, store; ser … ut”, Saying how something looks or sounds: ser … ut, høres … ut

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