Sixth lesson

While Ema is making dinner, we'll learn how to say negative sentences.

NorwegianABC.com is here greeting you already for the sixth time. In the fifth lesson - leksjon nummer fem – we learned many things indeed: plurals of nouns, usage of mange / mye. To ask and to reply, and how much things cost. Besides all that, we have bought plenty of fruit - frukter, vegetables – grønnsaker, and meat - kjøtt. What are we going to do and learn today?

Please remember what you learnt last time. Listen to Jan and repeat all of it. After repeating out loud, translate everything into English, and then answer a question. Er dere klare? - Are you ready? Let's begin!

dictionary

Dictionary   

notes

Notes   

• - God dag, alle sammen!

NorwegianABC.com is here greeting you already for the sixth time. In the fifth lesson - leksjon nummer fem – we learned many things indeed: plurals of nouns, usage of mange / mye. To ask and to reply, and how much things cost. Besides all that, we have bought plenty of fruit - frukter, vegetables – grønnsaker, and meat - kjøtt. What are we going to do and learn today?

Let's greet Jan first. Since the sixth lesson – leksjon nummer seks – I’ve been at his house very busily making dinner, so you can talk to him alone. OK? Greet him and ask how he is doing.

• - Hei, alle sammen. Ja, takk, det går veldig bra! Og hvordan går det med dere? Går det bra? Hva gjør dere? ? Spiser? Nei? Studerer norsk? Jaja :) Bra. Vi lager mat. Vi skal spise kveldsmat. Ja, det er så godt :) Hva skal vi spise? Ema, hva skal vi spise? Hva lager du?
• - Jan, jeg lager salat og steker kjøtt: en salad - salad.   å steke or   å steike – to fry. Jeg lager salat og steker kjøtt. Og hva gjør du, Jan?
• - Jeg... jeg... jeg sitter og ser ut av vinduet. – I'm sitting and looking through the window.   å se ut av vinduet – to look through a window. Jan ser ut av vinduet.
• - Jan, kan du hjelpe meg?
• - Nei... Nei...
• - Hva sier du? What do you say? Sier du nei?! Well, OK, let this day be a “no” day!

En salat

salad

Å steke

to fry

Å steike

to fry

Å se ut av vinduet

to look through a window

Jeg sitter og ser ut av vinduet.

I'm sitting and looking through the window.

While Ema is making dinner, we'll learn how to say negative sentences. In Norwegian there's a so called sentence circumstance (setningsadverbial) a word   ikke. Depending on the Norwegian dialect, the word “ikke” can be said in many variations. In southern Norway, it is usually said: ikke. In the southeast – itte. In the North – itj, in the West – ikkje. But let's not turn to dialects, and learn in set terms how we could say, for instance, the simple sentence: I don't speak Norwegian.

Attention, the sentence circumstance “ikke” in the main substantive sentence “I don't speak Norwegian”, usually goes after the predicate (word, describing action) or after a first word of the predicate. To sum it up – in the third place in a sentence.

And how will the sentence “I don't speak Norwegian” sound? A predicate in the sentence „jeg snakker norsk“ is „speak“ –   snakker. Let's think a bit. Yes, exactly: jeg snakker IKKE norsk.

Is it difficult? Er det komplisert? Neeei. Let's repeat together: Jeg snakker ikke norsk.

And how do you say: “I'm not from the USA”?

Jeg er ikke fra Amerikas forente stater. Or : jeg kommer ikke fra Amerikas forente stater.

Let's practice. I'll tell you a sentence, and you insert the word „ikke“ into the relevant position. Ema will say the correct answer after a pause. Ema, kan du hjelpe oss med plassering av ikke? Ema, could you help us learn the proper usage of „ikke“ in sentences?

• - Ja, jeg kan hjelpe.
• - Ready? Let's begin, la oss begynne:

Jeg kan lage mat.

I can cook.

Jeg kan ikke lage mat.

I can't cook.

Dere handler.

You do the shopping.

Dere handler ikke.

You don't do the shopping.

Jeg skal kjøpe mat.

I will buy food.

Jeg skal ikke kjøpe mat.

I won't buy food.

Attention, as I have mentioned, “ikke” is put into the third position, after the predicate or after the first word of the predicate. Skal kjøpe – skal ikke kjøpe. Don't make a mistake, and don't say: Jeg skal kjøpe ikke mat. We say: jeg skal ikke kjøpe mat.

Right, veldig bra!

In the next task, I'm going to say the negative, and you say it in the positive. For instance: Jeg ser ikke på TV.

Å se på TV

to watch TV

So, I say: Jeg ser ikke på TV. You say: Jeg ser på TV. I'll say the correct answer after a pause. OK? So let's go:

De kan ikke norsk.

De kan norsk.

Du kommer ikke fra Norge.

Du kommer fra Norge.

Vi spiser ikke bananer.

Vi spiser bananer.

Hun kan ikke gå på kurs.

Hun kan gå på kurs.

And how did you do? I think this rule is clear to you, and you are familiar with it already. I suggest another way for you to train – with the purpose to verify the rule and learn some new verbs. I'll say a new verb, a verb which we use in our daily language often. You repeat it, and then tell a present tense of the verb, and a present tense with the sentence circumstance “ikke”. For instance, I say:

  å selge

to sell, to do selling

Jeg selger.

Jeg selger ikke.

You can check the correct answer together with Jan after a pause. Did you understand the task? Bra, let's go:

  å gå

to go

Jeg går.

Jeg går ikke.

Å gå på jobb

to go to a job

  en jobb

a job

Jeg går på jobb.

Jeg går ikke på jobb.

Å gå på skole

to go to school

  en skole

a school

Jeg går på skole.

Jeg går ikke på skole.

Å gå i barnehage

to go to kindergarten

  en barnehage

a kindergarten

Jeg går i barnehage.

Jeg går ikke i barnehage.

Å gå på kino

to go to the cinema

  en kino

cinema

Jeg går på kino.

Jeg går ikke på kino.

Å gå på teater

to go to the theater

  et teater

the theater

Et teater

  mange teatre

Jeg går på teater.

Jeg går ikke på teater.

As you already have heard, the verb „å gå” is universal: å gå på kino, å gå på skole, å gå i barnehage. We use the pronoun i in some cases, and in others we use på. You may ask, what rule is this? When do we have to say på, and when – i? The rule is – there isn't any rule for this case :) We need to learn everything by heart here. But don't be upset. No way – It’s better to listen to norwegianABC.com more often, and think of some sentences with new words. Learn in a fun way, in a nice place, and everything will work out! So let's continue:

  å jobbe

to work

Jeg jobber.

Jeg jobber ikke.

  å bo

to live

Jeg bor.

Jeg bor ikke.

  å ha

to have

Jeg har.

Jeg har ikke.

  å sove

to sleep

Jeg sover.

Jeg sover ikke.

  å spise

to eat

Jeg spiser.

Jeg spiser ikke.

  å danse

to dance

Jeg danser.

Jeg danser ikke.

  å høre

to listen

Jeg hører.

Jeg hører ikke.

If we say “to listen to the radio”, we have to add a pronoun / preposisjon „på“ (we'll talk more about preposisjoner in our future lessons) –   å høre på radio. We say “to watch TV” with the pronoun „på“ too. Do you remember? Yes, å se på TV and å høre på radio.

  å lese

to read

Jeg leser.

Jeg leser ikke.

  å skrive

to write

Jeg skriver.

Jeg skriver ikke.

  å åpne

to open

Jeg åpner.

Jeg åpner ikke.

  å lukke

to close

Jeg lukker.

Jeg lukker ikke.

  å leke

to play

Jeg leker.

Jeg leker ikke.

  å svømme

to swim

Jeg svømmer.

Jeg svømmer ikke.

  å ta oppvasken

to wash dishes

Jeg tar oppvasken.

Jeg tar ikke oppvasken.

  å reparere

to repair

Jeg reparerer.

Jeg reparere ikke.

• - Uff. Let's relax a bit. I can hear meat sizzling already. I'll go and look at how much time I'll have to roast it. Hm... not much.
• - Ema, Lisa kommer på besøk. Hun kommer i dag. Lisa kommer snart. - Today Lisa will come to visit us.

  å komme på besøk

to come to visit someone

  å gå på besøk

to go to visit someone

  i dag

today

  snart

soon

Perhaps Lisa will have dinner with all of us. OK, so then let's wait for Lisa and learn more sentence circumstances which will go after the predicate in the main substantive sentence, in the same way as the word “ikke” we have just learned perfectly.

  sikkert

for sure, with no doubt

For instance: Lisa kommer sikkert i dag. Let's think of what it could mean. Yes! Perfect, if you said this: Lisa will come today for sure. The word-by-word variation would sound like this: Lisa for sure comes today. But it is more correct to say: Lisa will for sure come today.

The next sentence circumstance –   setningsadverbial – is:

  likevel

however, still

Let's say the same sentence „Lisa kommer i dag“ with „likevel“. Yes, we remember, that this word will go in the third place in a sentence: Lisa kommer likevel i dag. It means – Lisa will still come today. Lisa kommer likevel i dag. Great, you see – these words are so short – setningsadverbialer – and the colourful meanings of a sentence are so different! It's very useful to learn them for sure.

The next word, which is used often, is „kanskje“ – maybe. Let's listen to how Jan pronounces this word, sitting on the couch like a cat waiting for meat.

  kanskje

maybe

Let's insert „kanskje“ into „Lisa kommer i dag“, and we'll get: „Lisa kommer kanskje i dag“. Yes, exactly, after the predicate – kommer. Lisa kommer kanskje i dag. – She will maybe come today.

Well, let's learn more of them:

  bare

only

Lisa kommer bare i dag.

Lisa will come only today.

  ogsa

also, and

Lisa kommer også i dag.

Lisa will come today, also.

  egentlig

really

Lisa kommer egentlig i dag.

Lisa will come today, really.

Ech, I'm hungry already! Jeg er sulten! But the meat is roasting still, and Lisa is not here yet - Lise er ikke her. So let's learn a few more sentence circumstances – setningsadverbialer:

  forresten

by the way

Lisa kommer forresten i dag.

Lisa will come today, by the way.

  altså

so

Lisa kommer altså i dag.

So, Lisa will come today.

  jo

in any case, as we know

Lisa kommer jo i dag.

Lisa, as we know, will come today.

Do you hear how Jan is chomping at the bit? Who's this Lisa he’s expecting? What do you think? By the way, I'm going to check my meat to make sure it hasn't burned yet. And you say these sentences in Norwegian. Jan, after a pause, will tell you if you are correct:

I don't like going to the cinema.

Jeg liker ikke å gå på kino.

We, by the way, are going to attend a kindergarten.

Vi skal forresten gå i barnehage.

You will come only today.

Dere kommer bare i dag.

Jan will have salad, for sure.

Jan, skal sikkert spise salat.

He will maybe clean the dishes.

Han vil kanskje ta oppvask.

Great! We are very proud of you and happy! Don't be disappointed if you needed more time to say everything the right way. This is normal when learning a new language :) Repeat, learn, and repeat one more time.

• - Well, where's Lisa? Our dinner is getting cold. Jan, hvor er Lise? Kommer hun helt sikkert i dag? Is she really going to come today?
• - Nei vel... Jeg vet ikke. Jeg er ikke sikker.

And here it is. Å være sikker – to be sure. Jeg er ikke sikker – I'm not sure. Jeg er ikke sikker. Jan er ikke sikker. Jan is not sure that Lisa will come today. Maybe she will come tomorrow?

  å være sikker

to be sure

Jeg er ikke sikker.

I'm not sure.

Well, for the end of the lesson I will quickly give you some homework – to learn these words:

  en dag

a day

  en morgen

a morning

  en kveld

an evening

  en ei natt

a night

Pay attention to the plural of this word – netter.

En/ ei natt

netter

  i dag

today

  i går

yesterday

  i morgen

tomorrow

  i morgen kveld

tomorrow evening

• - Well, I'm going to sit by the table with Ema. And after such an intensive lesson I suggest you have a meal also :) We say – ha det bra. By the way, maybe you would like to wish us a good meal? God appetitt! God appetitt, Ema!
• - God appetitt, Jan. Ha det bra alle sammen.
• - Till next time, ha det, vi høres!