Norwegian Grammar.

1 THE SENTENCEAs in all the other Germanic languages, sentences in Norwegian can be described schematically containing three fields: a prefield, midfield and backfield. The prefield contains only one element. More often than not it is the subject. If the sentence is a question the prefield is empty.

The midfield and backfield can be subdivided in three fields each. The word order and content of the subfields is different for the different sentence types.

1.1 WORD ORDERThe basic word order in main clauses in Norwegian is as follows:

Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object AdverbialHan har kanskje lest denne boka i forrige uke.he has maybe read this book.the in last week

I forrige uke har han kanskje lest denne boka. In last week has he maybe read this book.the Har du kanskje lest denne boka? Have you maybe read this book.the

Immediately following the prefield in the midfield is the subfield Finite which contains the tensed main verb and the auxiliary verb. Then there is a position for the subject, if it is not placed in the prefield. The final element in the midfield is an optional adverbial. In the first position in the backfield we find the verb. Next follows the object, and finally an optional additional adverbial.

1.2 THE PREFIELDIn Norwegian almost all sentence elements can be in the prefield. Typically one will find the subject here, but adverbs also frequently occupy this position, and more rarely the object or a particle.

Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object AdverbialHan fant faktisk pengene under senga.He found actually money.the under bed.the Under senga fant han faktisk pengene. Faktisk fant han pengene under senga. Pengene fant han faktisk under senga. Ut kastet han ballen. out threw he ball.the

If an element occurs in the prefield its position in the mid- or backfield remains empty. Apart from the Finite-subfield, all fields can be empty.

Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial

Vent! wait! Hun sover. she sleeps

The cleft-sentence offers the same freedom of choice with respect to what has to be said first in the sentence, with the exception of the sentence adverbial in (1d), where * indicates ungrammaticality. Note that the subjunction is optional (indicated by the parentheses) when something other than the subject comes first.

(1) a. Det var ham som faktisk fant pengene under senga. it was him that actually found monye.the under bed.the It was him that actually found the money under the bed.

b. Det var under senga (som) han faktisk fant pengene.

c. Det var pengene (som) han faktisk fant under senga.

d. * Det var faktisk (som) han fant pengene under senga.

1.3 THE FINITE FIELDThe verb in the finite field is always conjugated (tempus), generally by adding an ending to the stem, e.g. les-er reads. In this way an utterance is anchored in a communicative context, i.e. before, simultaneously, or after it. Without this context it is impossible to ascertain whether an utterance is true or false. The sentence Per leser denne boka Per is reading this book can only be true, if Per is actually reading the book at the time of speech.

In contrast to English, the tensed verb is always the second element in the Norwegian main clauses. This means that only one element can precede the tensed verb in the prefield. If there is an auxiliary in the clause, this is placed in the second position of the prefield, and the main verb is placed in the backfield.

Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object AdverbialJohan har faktisk funnet pengene under senga.John has actually found money.the under bed.the

Han fant faktisk pengene under senga.

The order of the fields in the finite field is different in main clauses and in other types of sentences. see 1.9-1.12.

1.4 THE SUBJECTAll simple sentences contain two main elements: a subject and a finite verb. The subject is often a pronoun or noun phrase. The subject and the verb constitute the core of the sentence. If there is only a pronoun or a noun phrase together with the verb, this pronoun or noun phrase is generally the subject. If there are more pronouns or noun phrases in the sentence, the subject is the agent. If there is no action in the sentence, the subject often undergoes an experience.

(1) a. John kastet ballen bort. John threw ball.the away John threw away the ball.

b. Han hrte bilen. he heard car.the He heard the car.

The subject can also be an anticipatory element: det it, there that refers to the real subject which follows later on in the clause:

(2) a. Det er vanskelig forst. it is difficult to understand

b. Det var tre menn i hagen. there were three men in garden.the There were three men in the garden.

Normally, the subject occurs either in the prefield or in the subject field of the midfield immediately following the finite field.

Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object AdverbialAnneli elsker meg. Anneli loves me Kanskje elsker Anneli meg.

maybe loves Anneli me

When the subject is either a noun phrase or a stressed pronoun, it may occur between the sentence adverbials:

(3) a. Guttene hadde jo formodentlig nok ikke lest bkene. boys.the had after-all presumably probably not read books.the The boys had after all presumably most likely not read the books.

b. S hadde guttene jo formodentlig nok ikke lest bkene. then had boys.the after-all presumably probably not read books.the Then the boys after all had presumably most likely not read the books.

c. S hadde jo guttene formodentlig nok ikke lest bkene.

d. S hadde jo formodentlig guttene nok ikke lest bkene.

Some pronouns have a separate subject case form: nominative.

(4) a. Han elsker henne. he loves her

b. Hun elsker ham. she loves him

1.5 SENTENCE ADVERBIALS

Sententialadverbialscontributesomethingtothecontentoftheclause.Theycancombineclauses,highlightpartsofaclause,ordenyorrevealthespeakersattitudetowhatheorsheissaying.

(1) a. Han har alts en sjanse. he has thus a chance So he had a chance.

b. Du skal fremfor alt komme i tide. you shall in-front-of all come in time.E You must above all be there in time.

c. Anna kan ikke bli med p festen Anna can not become with on party.the Anna cannot come along to the party.

d. Hun vant dessverre. she won unfortunately

Different kinds of words and phrases can function as sentential adverbials. For example single adverbs: kanskje maybe, participial phrases: rlig talt honestly speaking, preposition phrases: i hvert fall in any case, and subordinate clauses: s vidt jeg vet as far as I know.

Sentential adverbials most often appear in the Prefield or in the Midfield, but they may also occur in the Backfield.

Prefield Midfield Backfieldx Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial

Jens har sikkert mtt Anna. Jens has surely met Anna Sannsynligvis har Jens mtt Anna. probably has Jens met Anna

If there are more than one sentential adverbials in the Midfield, the adverbial combining clauses comes first. Next follow adverbials that express the speakers attitude, and in the final position is the negation.

(2) a. Han vil vel sannsynligvis ikke hjelpe. he will well probably not help He will most likely probably not help.

b. Anna har n heldigvis ikke kjpt kjolen. Anna has now fortunately not bought dress.the Anna has fortunately not bought the dress.

The most common sentence adverbs in written Norwegian are ikke not, ogs also, s so, n now, bare just, only, da then, selv even, sammen together, hvor where, slik such.

1.6 NEGATION

Whenthespeakerwantstodenythatsomethingistrue,anegativeclauseisused,oftenwithnegativeadverbialssuchasikkenot,knapthardly,oraldrinever.

Ifthereareseveralsententialadverbialsintheclause,thenegationalwayscomeinthefinalposition.

(1) a. Du kommer jo allikevel aldri i tide. you come after-all anyway never in time.E After all you never arrive in time anyway.

b. Han kunne sannsynligvis nok heller ikke n det. he could probably surely either not reach it He probably couldnt reach it either.

The negations ikke not and knapt hardly can only occur in the beginning of the clause if the clause modifies another phrase. Aldri never can stand alone in the Prefield.

(2) a. Ikke et ye var trt. not an eye was dry

b. Ikke under noen omstendigheter vil jeg akseptere denne dommen. not under any circumstances will I accept this sentence.the

c. Aldri har jeg sett noe s vakkert. never have I seen anything so beautiful

1.7 THE VERB PHRASEAs in English, the verb in Norwegian generally stands in the beginning of the verb phrase in the backfield. However, if the main verb is tensed, it occupies the finite position in the Midfield, and its position in the Backfield is empty. If there is an auxiliary in the clause, this is placed in the Midfield, and the main verb, which is untensed, stands in the verb position in the Backfield.

Prefield Midfield Backfieldx Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbial

Jens har x mtt Anna. Jens has met Anna Jens mter Anna. Jens meets Anna

The object always follows the verb, and after that comes the adverbials. Some verbs are closely connected to adverbial particles and prepositions, such as: opp up and ut out. But they still always appear in the adverbial field:

(1) a. N kaster hun ballen ut igjen. now throws she ball.the out again Now she throws the ball out again.

b. Hun har skrevet adressen opp i boka. she has written address.the up in book.the She has written down the address in the book.

c. Han legger alltid to meter til. he lays always two meters to He always adds two meters.

There can be many different kinds of adverbials in the Backfield. As in English, the most important rule for the order of these is that the adverbials of place generally precedes the adverbials of time:

(2) a. Du skal legge boka p bordet p mandag. you shall lay book.the on table.the on Monday You must lay the book on the table on Monday.

b. * Jeg kommer ikke til Kbenhavn p sndag. I come not to Copenhagen on Sunday Im not coming to Copenhagen on Sunday.

1.8 AUXILIARY VERBSAuxiliary verbs co-occur with the main verb and provide several ways of expressing time relations in the clause. There are several groups of auxiliaries: modal auxiliaries (mtte must, skulle should, kunne could), tense auxiliaries (ha have, vre be), passive auxiliaries (bli become, vre be), and copula verbs (vre be, bli become).

1.8.1 Modal auxiliaries

Modalauxiliariesexpressthespeakersattitudetowhathe/sheissaying.Modalsgenerallycooccurwiththeinfinitiveformofthemainverb:

(1) a. Jeg skal stoppe. I shall stop

I will stop.

b. Jeg vil be deg om en tjeneste. I will ask you about a favour Im going to ask you a favour.

Modal auxiliaries can express:

(i)Somethingthespeakerthinksispossible:

(2) a. Jeg er sikker p at han kan vre her. I am sure on that he can be here Im sure that he can be here.

b. Han kan vre gtt hjem, men det er ogs mulig at han er p loftet. ha can be gone home but it is also possible that he is on attic.the He may have gone home but it is also possible that he is in the attic.

(ii) Something that the speaker thinks is necessary:

(3) a. Noen br hjelpe henne. someone should help her

b. Hun m ikke g ut i dag. she must not go out today

(iii) Capability or volition:

(4) a. Anna kan svmme 1000 meter. Anna can swim 1000 meters

b. Jeg vil ikke spise flere bananer. I want not eat more bananas I dont want to eat more bananas.

Infinitive Present Past Perfect Meaningskulle skal skulle skullet shall, will, is said to, necessity (3)kunne kan kunne kunnet can, may, be able to, possibility (2), capability (4)mtte m mtte mttet must, have to, necessity (3)burde br burde should, ougth to, necessity (3)ville vil ville villet will, want to, volition (4)

The modal auxiliaries are generally positioned initially in the verb phrase. Several modal auxiliaries can co-occur:

(5) a. Han m kunne lpe fortere. he must can run faster He must be able to run faster.

b. Det burde kunne la seg gjre. it ought can let itself do It should be possible.

1.8.2 Other auxiliaries

Inadditiontothemodalauxiliaries,NorwegianliketheotherGermaniclanguageshasauxiliariesthatexpresstimeandthepassive.

Timeisexpressedbytheauxiliarieshahaveandvrebewhichdenotethatsomethingiscompleted,andvillewouldandskulleshouldwhichdenotethatsomethingwillhappeninthefuture.

(1) a. Han har kjpt en ny bil. he has bought a new car

b. Han er allerede ankommet. he is already arrived He has already arrived.

c. Det vil vre et stort problem for oss i fremtiden. it will be a big problem for us in future.the It will be a big problem for us in the future.

d. Jeg skal reise til Paris i morgen. I shall travel to Paris tomorrow Im going to Paris tomorrow.

A verb in simple present tense may also express future:

(2) Jeg reiser til Paris i morgen. I travel to Paris tomorrow Im going to Paris tomorrow.

Passive is expressed by the auxiliaries bli become and vre be, followed by the past participle form of the main verb.

(3) a. Han ble kjrt over av en bil i gr. he became driven over by a car yesterday He was hit by a car yesterday.

b. Han er plaget av mygg. he is tormented by mosquitoes

Infinitive Present Past Perfect Meaningvre er var vrt Tense active, passiveha har hadde hatt Tense activeville vil ville villet Tense active - futurebli blir ble blitt Tense passive

As in the other Germanic languages, different auxiliaries can be combined to express different aspects of the actions process:

(4) a. Han kan vre blitt sendt hjem av sjefen sin. he can be become sent home by boss.the his He may have been sent home by his boss.

b. Hun burde ha kunnet forutse problemet. she ought have could foresee problem.the She should have been able to foresee the problem.

1.9 THE MAIN CLAUSE

Themainclauseisthemostbasickindofutterance.Therearethreetypesofmainclauses:

1.Thepropermainclause,whichhasatensedverbandfunctionsasanassertionoraquestion:

(1) a. Forrige uke var jeg i York. last week was I in York Last week I was in York.

b. Han har ikke lest boka enn. he has not read book.the yet He has not read the book yet.

c. Var du i York i forrige uke?

were you in York in last week Were you in York last week?

d. Har han ikke lest boka enn? has he not read book.the yet Hasnt he read the book yet?

2. Theimperativemainclause,whichhasanimperativeverbandfunctionsasademand:

(2) a. pn vinduet! open window.the Open the window!

b. Vr s snill! be so kind Please!

3. Theexclamativemainclause,whichtypicallyhastheformofanembeddedclause,and expresses a surprise or astonishment:

(3) a. For en flott kjole! for a nice dress What a nice dress!

b. Din store idiot! your big idiot You big idiot!

1.9.1 Declarative main clauses

Therearetwotypesofdeclarativemainclauses:positive(affirmative)andnegative.

Positive:

(1) a. Han har kjpt boka. he has bought book.the He has bought the book.

b. Han hjelper sin kone. he helps his wife

Negative:

(2) a. Han har ikke kjpt boka. he has not bought book.the He has not bought the book.

b. Han hjelper aldri sin kone. he helps never his wife He never helps his wife.

1.9.1.1 Affirmative main clauses

Asdescribedinsection1.1.and1.3.,affirmativemainclauseshavethetensedverbintheFinitefieldasthesecondelementoftheclause.Thisverbcanonlybeprecededbyonewordoronephrase.Ifanyotherelementthanthesubjectprecedestheverb,thesubjectgenerallyfollowsimmediatelyaftertheverb.Onlyafewadverbsmayoccurinfrontofthefiniteverbinadditiontothesubject,whichisthennolongerthesecondelementintheclause:

(1) a. Han bare gikk sin vei. he just walked his way He just walked away.

b. Han nrmest kastet seg ut fra balkongen. he closest threw himself out from balcony.the He almost threw himself out from the balcony.

In declarative main clauses almost any element can occur in front of the tensed verb in the Finite field:

Prefield Midfield Backfield

x Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object AdverbialHan fant faktisk pengene under senga.he found actually money.the under bed.the Under senga fant han faktisk pengene. Faktisk fant han pengene under senga.Pengene fant han faktisk under senga.

Ut kastet han ballen. out threw he ball.the

Inmostcaseswefindthesubjectintheprefield(in6070%ofthecases).Itisalittlelesscommontofindanadverbialinhere(2030%ofthecases)ortheobject(510%ofthecases).Evenlesscommonisapredicativecomplementoraparticleinthisposition.

Lightpronominalobjects,generallypersonalpronounssuchasmegme,degyou,seghimself/herselft/itself,henneher,hamhim,anddenitcanbeplacedinfrontoftheadverbialintheMidfield,eventhoughtheyshouldbeplacedintheobjectpositionintheBackfield.ButthisisonlypossibleiftheverbpositionintheBackfieldisempty.Iftheselightpronounsoccurintheirregularobjectposition,theygetspecificemphaticstress.

Prefield Midfield Backfield

x Finite SubjectLight pronoun

fieldAdverbial Verb Object Adverbial

Han hjelper aldri sin kone. he helps never his wife Han hjelper henne aldri. he helps her never Han hjelper aldri henne. Han har aldri hjulpet sin kone. he has never helped his wife Han har aldri hjulpet henne. he has never helped her

Main clauses can be combined with conjunctions such as e.g. og and and men but. If the subject is the same in both clauses, it may be deleted in the second clause:

(2) a. Han s henne og han hjalp henne. he saw her and he helped her

b. Han s henne og ____ hjalp henne. he saw her and helped her

1.9.1.2 Negative main clauses

Negativemainclauseshavethesamewordorderasaffirmative(positive)mainclauses.ThenegationikkenotispositionedintheadverbialfieldintheMidfieldandisgenerallythelastoftheadverbialsinthisposition.Wordsexpressingsomethingabsolutive,suchasnoensinneevernormallycannotoccurinpositiveclauses.Theymustalwayscooccurwiththenegationorinaninterrogativeclause:

(1) Han har aldri noensinne sett henne. * Han har noensinne sett henne. he has never ever seen her he has ever seen her

1.9.2 Direct questions

LikeEnglish,Norwegianhastwotypesofquestions:

1.Yes/noquestions:

(1) Er Peter her? Ja. / Nei. is Peter here yes no

2. Questions that are introduces by a wh-word such as hvem who, hva what, nr when, hvor where, hvordan how, etc.

(2) Hvem banker p dra? Anne / Espen / ... who knocks on door.the Anne Espen ... Who is knocking on the door? Anne/Espen/...

1.9.2.1 Yes/no-questions

Directquestionsthatcanbeansweredbyyesornoarealwaysintroducedbyafiniteverb.Thewordorderisthesameasformainclauses,onlywithouttheprefield:

Midfield Backfield

Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object AdverbialFant han pengene? found he money.the

Skal jeg kanskje hente boka til deg?shall I maybe fetch book.the to you Er hun ikke kommet enn?is she not come yet

Whenseveralyes/noquestionsarecoordinatedbytheconjunctionelleror,onecanoftenleavesomethingoutinthesecondquestion.Therearetwotypicalcases:

1.Ifthesecondclauseisanegationofthefirstonethenegationeinotisused:

(1) Er han glad eller ei? (= Er han glad eller er han ikke glad?) is he happy or not is he happy or is he not happy

2. If only one constituent distinguishes the second clause from the first one, and the rest of the sentence can be reconstructed from the first sentence:

(2) Skal jeg gjre det eller Stina? (=Skal jeg gjre det eller skal Stina gjre det?) shall I do it or Stina (= Should I do it or should Stina do it?)

1.9.2.1 Wh-questions

Norwegiandirectwhquestionsarealwaysintroducedbyawhword(hvemwho,hvawhat,nrwhen,hvorwhere,hvordanhow,etc.)oraphrasethatcontainsawhword(hvilkebkerwhichbooks,hvaforeibokwhichbook,etc.).Thewordorderisthesameasfortopicalisedmainclauses.

(1) a. Hva har du kjpt? what have you bought What did you buy?

b. Hvilken bok har du kjpt? which book have you bought

c. Hva for ei bok har du kjpt? what for a book have you bought What kind of book did you buy?

1.9.3 Imperatives

Animperativemainclausegenerallyexpressesademandoranorder.

(1) a. pn dra! open door.the Open the door!

b. Ikke vr s dum! not be so stupid Dont be so stupid!

The clause starts with the verb in its basic form. The rest of the clause has the same word order as main clauses. However, if the imperative is negated, the negation is generally in the initial position, as in English. The subject or the receiver of the order is normally left out.

Verbs ending in a vowel have the same form in infinitive and imperative, e.g. g go, se see, st stand, etc. Verbs ending in a consonant form the imperative by deleting the ending -e from the infinitive, e.g. kjp-e kjpe, sov-e sleep, spis-e eat.

1.10 THE SUBORDINATE CLAUSEThe subordinate clause is a part of a main clause. It can have the function of subject, object, adverbial, predicative, and it can also be the modifier of a noun.

(1) a. [ At han var syk ] var penbart. Subject that he was ill was obvious That he was ill was obvious.

(1) b. Han visste ikke [ hvem hun hadde bedt]. Object he knew not who she had invited He didnt know who she had invited.

(1) c. Han kom fram [ da hun allerede hadde dratt ]. Adverbial he came forward when she already had left He arrived when she had already left.

(1) d. Planen min er [ at vi mter henne p stasjonen ]. Predicative plan.the my is that we meet her on station.the My plan is that we meet her at the station.

(1) e. Jeg kjpte et hus [ som var rdt ]. Modifier of noun I bought a house that was red

I bought a house that was red.

Norwegian subordinate clauses normally have an introducing element (often a subjunction) and a special word order (unlike English). The first position is often empty. The second position (where the finite verb is found in main clauses) is the place for the introducing element, and the finite verb as well as other verbs are positioned in the Verb field. Compare the word order in main clauses to that of subordinate clauses.

(2) Prefield Midfield Backfield Finite Subject Adverbial Verb Object Adverbiala. Main clause: Eva har ikke lest boka mi enn.

Eva has not read book.the my yet

Eva hasnt read my book yet.a. Subordinate clause: at Eva ikke

har lest boka mi enn

that Eva not has readbook.the my yet

that Eva hasnt read my book yetb. Main clause: Har Eva ikke lest boka mi enn?

has Eva not read book.the my yet

Hasnt Eva read my book yet?b. Subordinate clause: om Eva ikke

har lest boka mi enn

if Eva not has readbook.the my yet

if Eva hasnt read my book yetc. Main clause: Boka mi har Eva ikke lest enn. book.the my has Eva not read yet My book, Eva hasnt read yet.c. Subordinate clause: (boka mi) som Eva ikke

har lest enn

(book-the my) which Eva nothas read yet

(my book) which Eva hasnt read yet

Note that the subject is always in the position after the introducing element. Note also that the finite verb is placed after negation (and other sentence adverbials).

1.10.1 Nominal clauses

Nominal clauses have the same functions as noun phrases. Nominal clauses are primarily at-clauses and interrogative clauses. Like noun phrases they occur primarily as subjects, objects, or complements of prepositions.

(1) a. [ At Karl kom p festen] var hyggelig. Subject that Karl came on party.the was nice It was nice that Karl came to the party.

(1) b. Jeg lurer p [ hvem som kom p festen]. Object I wonder on who that came on party.the I wonder who came to the party.

(1) c. Jeg stolte p [ at hun skulle komme p festen]. Prepositional complement I counted on that she should come on party.the I counted on that she would come to the party.

1.10.1.1 At-clauses

In at-clauses the introducing element is sometimes missing.

(1) Jeg tror [ (at) hun kan det]. I think (that) she knows it I think (that) she knows it.

The word order in at-clauses is normally the same as in other subordinate clauses, but it may sometimes also show the same order as in main clauses.

(2) a. Han meddelte at hun ikke kan komme. he announced that she not can come He announced that she cant come.

(2) b. Hun meddelte at hun kan ikke komme. she announced that she can not come She announced that she cant come.

1.10.1.2 Indirect wh-questions

Indirect wh-questions correspond to ordinary main clause questions, where you ask for something with words like who, what, when, where, how, why (in Norwegian hvem, hva, nr, hvor, hvordan, hvorfor).

(1) a. Han visste ikke [ hva han skulle gjre]. cf. main Hva skulle han gjre?

clause: he knew not what he should do what should he do He didnt know what to do. What should he do?

(1) b. Jeg lurer p [ nr du er fdt]. cf. main clause: Nr er du fdt? I wonder on when you are born When are you born I wonder when you were born. When were you born?

If the questioned element is the subject, som that is obligatorily inserted after the question word.

(2) Jeg lurer p hvem som har stjlet sykkelen min. I wonder on who that has stolen bike.the my I wonder who stole my bike.

1.10.1.3 Indirect Yes/no-questions

Indirect yes/no-questions correspond to ordinary main clause yes/no-questions. The introducing element is om if, or sometimes hvorvidt whether or i tilfelle in case.

(1) Jeg lurer p [ om du har dusjet]. cf. main clause: Har du dusjet?

I wonder on whether you have showered have you showered

I wonder whether you have taken a shower. Have you taken a shower?

1.10.2 Relative clauses

Relative clauses are typically found inside noun phrases, following a noun, a proper name, or a pronoun. In Norwegian they are normally introduced by som that, but in formal written language a wh-phrase, (like hvilket which and hvis whose) also occur.

(1) a. Huset [ som str der borte ] tilhrer biskopen. house.the that stands there away belongs-to bishop.the The house over there belongs to the bishop.

(1) b. Mannen [ som str der ] er min bror. man.the who stands there is my brother The man standing over there is my brother.

(1) c. Vi snakket med ham som politiet jagde. we talked with him that police.the chased

We talked to the guy that the police chased.

If the noun expresses time or location, the relative clause may also be introduced with nr, da when, then, hvor, der where, there, dit there-to.

(2) a. sommeren [ da allting hendte] summer.the when everything happened the summer that everything happened

(2) b. huset [ der / hvor jeg bor] house.the there / where I live the house where I live

Relative clauses with som are also found in the so-called cleft construction.

(3) a. Det var Eva [ som frst kom p iden]. it was Eva who first came on idea.the It was Eva who first came up with the idea.

(3) b. Det var den iden [ som Eva kom p]. it was that idea that Eva came on That was the idea that Eva came up with.

Relative clauses can also be used to modify the whole clause (instead of a noun phrase). In such cases the relative pronoun hvilket which can be used, as well as noe som something which.

(4) a. Han spiller piano om morgenen, hvilket irriterer meg. he plays piano in morning.the which irritates me He plays the piano in the morning, which irritates me.

(4) b. Naboen har ftt ny bil, noe som gjr meg misunnelig. neighbour.the has got new car something which makes me envious My neighbour has got a new car, and that makes me envious.

1.10.3 Adverbial subordinate clauses

Adverbial subordinate clauses express time, location, condition, cause, intention, comparison, and other similar relations. They function as adverbials, and they are introduced by adverbs or subjunctions like nr/da when, der there, hvis if, fordi because, ettersom because, since, for in order to, enn than, som as. Compare 3.7.

(1) a. [ Nr du kommer fram], har du kirken til hyre.

when you come forward have you church.the to right When you get there, you have the church to your right.

(1) b. [ Hvis du vil], kan du hjelpe henne. if you want can you help her If you want to, you can help her.

(1) c. Vi ble slitne [ ettersom det var veldig varmt]. we became tired as it was very hot We got tired as it was very hot.

(1) d. Han er eldre [ enn jeg er]. he is older than I am He is older than I am.

(1) e. Han er like gammel [ som jeg er]. he is as old as I am He is as old as I am.

Conditional clauses are normally introduced by the subjunction hvis if, but they may also lack it. In such cases they are formed like questions.

(2) Har du kjpt den m dubetale

den. =

Hvis du har kjpt

den m du

betale

den.

haveyou

bought it

must

you pay it if

you

have

bought it

must

you pay it

If you have bought it, you must pay for it. If you have bought it, you must pay for it.

Adverbial clauses that are placed in the first position of their main clause, are often followed by the word s so in front of the finite verb. The use of s contrasts with English.

(3) a. Nr dere kommer, s kan vi begynne spise. when you arrive so can we begin eat When you arrive, we can begin eating.

(3) b. Hvis du vil, s kan du bade. if you want so can you bathe If you want to, you may bathe.

1.11 NON-FINITE CLAUSES

Non-finite clauses are clauses without a finite verb. The verb is either an infinitive or a participle.

(1) a. Det er hyggelig [ spille bridge]. it is nice to play bridge It is nice to play bridge.

(1) b. en [ drlig skrevet ] artikkel a badly written article a badly written article

1.11.1 Infinitival clauses

In infinitival clauses the verb is in the infinitive form. Such clauses are normally introduced by the infinitival marker to. They never contain a subject, but are otherwise very similar to subordinate clauses introduced by at that.

(1) a. Vi begynte [ forst hans problem ]. we began to understand his problem We began to understand his problem.

(1) b. De lengtet etter [ reise til kysten]. they longed after to travel to coast.the They longed for travelling to the coast.

(1) c. [ bli ranet] er en fl opplevelse. to get mugged is a terrible experience To be mugged is a terrible experience.

The infinitival marker is sometimes missing, for instance in the beginning of a clause and after negation.

(2) a. [ () ] studere latin har jeg alltid drmt om. to study Latin have I always dreamt about I have always dreamt of studying Latin.

(2) b. Du trenger ikke () lese boka. you need not to read book.the You dont have to read the book.

The infinitival marker is always missing in the so-called object with infinitive construction.

(3) Vi hrte jentene [ synge bak lven].

we heard girls.the sing behind barn.the We heard the girls singing behind the barn.

1.11.2 Participial clauses

In participial clauses the verb is either a present or a past participle. These clauses are normally used attributively (in front of a noun). They may contain adverbials, and also other elements that are not allowed in English.

(1) a. en [ drlig skrevet ] artikkel a badly written article a badly written article

(1) b. en [ for meg svrt opprivende ] hendelse a for me very agonizing event an event that was very agonizing for me

1.12 SPECIAL CONSTRUCTIONSKeine Daten gefunden!

1.12.1 Topicalisation

Topicalisation is the traditional term for constructions where subjects occur in the first position of the clause. It does however not apply to wh-elements of any kind. Normally, an adverbial or an object is placed in the first position.

(1) a. I morgen skal vi g p kino. in morning shall we go on cinema Tomorrow we will go to the cinema.

(1) b. Bak bilen fant jeg en btte. behind car.the found I a bucket Behind the car I found a bucket.

(1) c. Denne boka har hun ikke lest. this book.the has she not read This book she hasnt read.

(1) d. Glad ble hun ikke. happy became she not She did not get happy.

(1) e. At vi kommer vet Karl allerede. that we come knows Karl already Karl already knows that we are coming.

Note that the subject occurs directly after the verb when something is topicalised.

One reason for topicalising an element is that this element is already known by the hearer and the speaker. Another reason is to emphasize the element.

1.12.2 Existential sentences

If the subject contains new information it may immediately follow the non-finite verb and the word det, there is placed in the subject position or in the first position.

(1) a. Det kan ha vrt ei flue i suppa. it may have been a fly in soup.the There may have been a fly in the soup.

(1) b. Det hadde oppsttt en krangel mellom brdrene. it had occurred a fight between brothers.the There occurred a fight between the brothers.

The word det it behaves as an ordinary subject. For instance it is placed directly after the verb if something is topicalised.

(2) a. I suppa kan det ha vrt ei flue. in soup.the may it have been a fly In the soup, there may have been a fly.

(2) b. Mellom brdrene hadde det oppsttt en krangel. between brothers.the had it occurred a fight Between the brothers there had occurred a fight.

1.12.3 Passives

A sentence may often have both an active and a passive voice. Both voices express the same event, but the element that is the subject in the active voice is suppressed in the passive voice. It may be missing or it may be expressed in an av-phrase (a by-phrase).

(1) a. Active: Mannen pnet vinduet. man.the opened window.the The man opened the window.

(1) b. Passive: Vinduet ble pnet ( av mannen ). window.the became opened by man.the The window was opened by the man.

There are three sorts of passives in Norwegian. Either one of the auxiliaries bli become or vre be is used, or the verb takes on the s-ending.

The most common passive is the one with the auxiliary bli become, which has a wide range of uses, and can be used freely in all tenses.

(2) a. Bkene blir solgt p auksjon. books.the become sold on auction The books are sold on aution.

(2) b. Bkene ble solgt p auksjon. books.the became sold on auction The books were sold on aution.

(2) c. Bkene har blitt solgt p auksjon. books.the have become sold on auction The books are being sold on aution.

Passives with the auxiliary vre be are less common. The meaning of the vre-passive often depends on the meaning of the main verb. Consider the following example, where the meaning corresponds to that of the example in the perfect above:

(3) Bkene er solgt p auksjon. books.the are sold on auction The books have been sold on aution.

The s-passive is normally only used in the infinitive or the present tense.

(4) a. Bkene selges p auksjon. books.the sell.PASS on auction The books are sold on auction.

(4) b. Bkene sendes for selges p auksjon. books.the send.PASS for to sell.PASS on auction The books are sent to be sold on auction.

1.12.4 Middles

Norwegian does not have middles of the sort found in English. Sentences like This book reads easily are translated with an adjectival construction:

(1) a. Denne boka er lett lese. this book.the is easy to read This book reads easily.

(1) b. Denne boka gr det ( lett ) lese. this book.the goes it ( easy ) to read This book reads easily.

1.12.5 Free word order (Scrambling)

Norwegian, just like English, lacks the kind of free word order often called scrambling, which is typical of German and Dutch.

1.12.6 Weak pronouns, clitics, and object shift

Norwegian possesses a specific construction named object shift, which moves unstressed object pronouns to a position in front of the negation (or other sentence adverbials). This is not possible with ordinary noun phrases, but only with pronouns.

(1) a. Jeg s ikke Karl. Ordinary object: no object shift I saw not Karl I didnt see Karl.

(1) b. Jeg s ham ikke. Pronominal object: object shift occurs I saw him not I didnt see him.

This movement is only found if there is nothing (or only a verb particle) in between the negation (sentence adverbial) and the object. If there is a verb, a preposition or the like in between, the object stays in its normal position.

(2) a. Jeg tok den ikke opp. Particle does not intervene: object shift I took it not up I didnt take it up.

(2) b. Jeg har ikke sett ham. Verb intervenes: no object shift I have not seen him I havent see him.

(2) c. Jeg s ikke p henne. Preposition intervenes: no object shift

I saw not on her I didnt look at her.

1.13 COORDINATION AT THE CLAUSE LEVELNorwegian uses og and, eller or, and men but in the same way as English to coordinate main clauses.

(1) a. Jeg gr og Lise sykler. I walk and Lise bikes Im walking and Lise is running a bike.

(2) b. Ole er sjelden glad, men Kari ler av alt. Ole is seldom happy but Kari laughs of everything Ole is seldom happy but Kari laughs at everything.

2 THE PHRASESWords belonging to different word classes function syntactically as heads in phrases. A phrase consists of a head (a verb, a noun, an adjective, an adverb, or a preposition) which alone or together with optional modifiers constitute a verb phrase (run, wash the car), a noun phrase (John, Mary's sister from Utah, peace in our time), an adjective phrase (red, like his father), an adverb phrase (always, almost never), or a prepositional phrase (at my door, with Mary). The modifying phrases may occur before and/or after the head word, depending on language and phrasal type. In many respects, the phrases in the Germanic languages have very similar properties.

The overall structure of phrases is the same in Norwegian and in English.

2.1 THE VERB PHRASEThe verb phrase has a verb as its head: He bought a book yesterday. This phrase constitutes the last part of the sentence, following the sentential adverbials. In German and Dutch verb phrases the verb is in the final position (a), whereas the verb phrase in Norwegian (b) and the other Germanic languages is verb initial:

(1) a. Ich muss morgens im Warenhaus einen Mantel gekaufen.

b. Jeg m kjpe ei kpe p kjpesenteret i morgen. I must buy a coat on department.store.the in morning I must buy a coat at the department store tomorrow.

In main clauses, however, the tensed verb (auxiliary or main verb) appears in the finite (second) position ( 1.3) rather than in the verb phrase in all the Germanic languages (except English) (c-d):

c. N har han nok gtt p toget. now has he probably gone on train.the He has probably got on the train now.

d. N gikk han p toget. now went he on train.the He got on the train now.

Norwegian differs from English in being a verb-second language. In Norwegian, the tensed verb (auxiliary or main verb) always appears in the finite (second) position in main clauses. This means that the tensed verb precedes sentence adverbials and negation. Examples (c-d) also illustrate the fact that the tensed verb precedes the subject (han) in topicalised sentences.

2.1.1 The order of elements in the verb phrase

The order of elements in the Norwegian verb phrase is given in the scheme below. If there is an indirect object, this follows next, preceding a position where we find the subject predicative complement, the direct object or the associate subject; see the last example below for a case with both an indirect object and an associate subject. The object predicative complement and the infinitive of the object with infinitive constructions share a position, followed by a field for bound content adverbials (Han bor i Lund he lives in Lund) and prepositional objects (Han ser p henne he is looking at her). Finally there is a field for free content adverbials and postponed phrases.

Verb Ind. obj.

Direct obj, Associate subj, Subj predicative

Obj predicative, Infinitive clause

Bound adverbials, Prep. objects

Free adverbials, Postponed phrases

br gi ham ei bok p fdselsdagenshould give him a book at birthday.the

male huset rdt paint house.the red se ham komme

see him come g til byen snarestgo to town.the immediately overrekkes henne nobelprisen av kongen is.given her Nobel Prize.the by king.the

Particles(see2.1.4)allowtwodifferentlocations,oneimmediatelybeforetheverbandoneimmediatelyafter.

Verb Particle

Direct object,Associate subject,Subj predicative

Particle

Obj predicative,Infinitive clause

Bound adverbials,Prep. objects

Free adverbials,Postponed phrases

hogge av hodet med knivcut off head.the with knife hogge hodet av med knivcut head.the off with knife hoppe opp ei katt p bordet framfor megjump up a cat on table.the in-front-of me hoppe ei katt opp p bordet framfor megjump a cat up on table.the in-front-of me ta fra ham boka snarest

take from him book.the immediately

ta boka fra ham snarest

take book.the from him immediately

2.1.2 Be and Have

All the Germanic languages make extensive use of verbs corresponding closely to the English be (Norwegian vre) and have (Norwegian ha). Compare English The book is on the table with Norwegian Boka er p bordet. As a main verb, be is also used as a copula (He is sick, Han er syk).

As auxiliaries, be and have are used to express voice, tense, and aspect (He was killed, He has read the book, He is reading the book). In Norwegian, have is generally used to express the perfect tense and the pluperfect tense with all kinds of verbs (a-b), but in some dialects, be may be used with intransitive verbs indicating a change of state (c):

(1) a. Marie Curie har ftt nobelprisen to ganger. Marie Curie has received Nobel prize.the two times Marie Curie has received the Nobel Prize twice.

b. Leiv Eriksson har dratt til Amerika. Leiv Eriksson has gone to America Leiv Eriksson has gone to America.

c. Leiv Eriksson er dratt til Amerika. Leiv Eriksson is gone to America Leiv Eriksson has gone to America.

Be may also be used with a past participle as a passive auxiliary when the passive expresses the result of an action or a completed transition (d)

d. Jomsvikingene var tatt til fange av nordmennene. Jomsvikings.the were taken to capture by Norwegians.the The Jomsvikings were captured by the Norwegians.

However, bli become is more common as a passive auxiliary; see 1.12.4.

Inaddition,vreisusedasthecopula;whenthepredicativeisanadjectiveorapastparticiple,itagreeswiththesubjectingenderandnumber:

(2) a. Han var syk igr. he was ill yesterday

b. De var syke igr. they were ill yesterday

Whereas Norwegian sometimes allows the used of the auxiliary be in forming the perfect tense and the pluperfect tense with intransitive verbs (as in (c) above), English always uses the auxiliary have , irrespectively of whether the verb is transitive or intransitive.

2.1.3 Reflexive verbs

A reflexive pronoun may be the object of a transitive verb, as in He killed himself. In this case, the reflexive pronoun may be replaced by another pronoun or a full noun phrase. However, all the Germanic languages (except English) have reflexive verbs, a combination of an intransitive verb + a reflexive. They have a meaning of their own, and often correspond to one verb in English: consider the Norwegian Jeg vegrer meg for hjelpe ham, where meg is the reflexive, which corresponds to the English I refuse to help him without a reflexive.

Some verbs are only used together with a reflexive (oppfre seg behave, innfinne seg appear); others are either intransitive or reflexive (angre (seg) regret). A third group of reflexive verbs can occur with an ordinary object instead of the reflexive, but with a different meaning (a -b):

(1) a. Han vendte seg til henne. he turned REFL to her He turned towards her.

b. Han vendte bladet. he turned page.the He turned the page.

With respect to word order, the reflexive behaves like a pronoun. Thus it must precede a particle or particles (see 2.1.4.): Han slet seg ut he wore himself out.

As English does not have reflexive verbs, the intransitive verb + reflexive combination in Norwegian generally corresponds to one verb in English.

2.1.4 Verb particles

Norwegian particle constructions correspond closely in almost all ways to English ones. This is illustrated in (a-c):

(1) a. kaste opp (maten) throw up (food.the) throw up the food

b. gi opp (kampen)

give up (fight.the) capitulate

c. kle p seg (ei kpe) dress on REFL (a coat) put on a coat

Just as in English, the position of the particle within the verb phrase depends on the form of the object. If there is a nominal object, the particle may either come before or after it (d-e). However, if the object is a pronoun, the particle must come beforethe object (f-g):

d. kaste opp maten e. kaste maten opp throw up food.the up throw up the food

f. *kaste opp den g. kaste den opp throw up it up throw it up

However, there are many constructions whose meanings are not matched in English and which must be learned like words:

h. dele ut nobelprisen share out Nobel Prize.the award the Nobel Prize

i. Sknaden gikk igjennom. application.the went through The application got through.

Often the combination verb + particle corresponds to a prefixed verb with the same (j-k) or a related (l-m) meaning:

j. Sjefen mtte legge ned bedriften. k. Sjefen mtte nedlegge bedriften boss.the had-to lay down down-lay company.the The boss had to shut down the company.

l. Han streket under ordet. he lined under word.the He underlined the word.

m. Han understreket ordets betydning. he underlined word.thes meaning He emphasized the meaning of the word.

With respect to the position of the particle in relation to nominal and pronominal objects, English and Norwegian are the same.

2.1.5 The object

In Norwegian as in English, the object is an obligatory nominal or sentential complement of certain verbs. It may be a noun phrase, The vikings were Scandinavian seafarers, a pronoun, Many nations feared them, an infinitival clause, Children like to hear fairy tales, or an embedded clause, The Jomsvikings said that they were content to die. Some verbs take two objects, one indirect and one direct object: The king gave her the prize. In this case, the first object (her) expresses the one who gets what is expressed by the second object (the prize).

In Norwegian, the object either follows the main verb, or it appears in the first position (a-b):

(1) a. Klostrene brygget l i middelalderen. monasteries.the brewed beer in Middle Ages.the The monasteries brewed beer in the Middle Ages.

b. Gudene ofret vikingene til ved blot. gods.the sacrificed vikings.the to at blot The vikings made offerings to the gods at the blot.

In main clauses, nominal objects follow sentence adverbials, including negation (c), whereas pronominal objects come before such adverbials (d). However, all kinds of objects come before content adverbials such as adverbials of time, place, and manner (e):

c. Han holdt ikke kniven i hnda. he held not knife.the in hand.the He didn't hold the knife in his hand.

d. Han holdt den ikke i hnda. he held it not in hand.the He didn't hold it in his hand.

e. Vikingene ofret gaver til gudene hvert r.

vikings.the sacrificed gifts to gods.the every year The vikings sacrificed gifts to the gods every year.

When the object is questioned, it appears in the first position (f):

f. Hva syntes jomsvikingene om d? what thought Jomsvikings.the about to die What did the Jomsvikings think about dying?

Object pronouns bear the specific oblique case in Norwegian, cf. ham him, henne her (ham is mostly used in writing; in speech most people would use han). The corresponding subject forms are han he, hun she. For den it there is only one form.

Topicalised constructions with non-subjeccts in the initial position (such as (b)), are much more common in Norwegian than in English.

2.1.6 Predicative complements

A predicative complement often expresse a quality or attribute of the subject or the object, or it tells us the identity of the subject or the object. It may be a noun phrase (a), an adjective phrase (b), a prepositional phrase (c), or a subordinate clause (d):

(1) a. Alfred Nobel var kjemiker. Alfred Nobel was chemist Alfred Nobel was a chemist.

b. Marie Curie er svrt bermt. Marie Curie is very famous Marie Curie is very famous.

c. De valgte Bush til president. they elected Bush to president They elected Bush as president.

d. Ett resultat er at prisene vil stige. one result is that prices.the will raise One result is that the prices will raise.

When the predicative complement is an adjective (or a past participle), it agrees with the word it is a complement to (subject or object) in number and gender (e-f):

e. Eventyret var nifst. fairy tale.the was scary-sg.neut. The fairy tale was scary.

f. Jomsvikingene var fryktlse. Jomsvikings.the were fearless-pl. The Jomsvikings were fearless.

The predicative complement of the subject follows all verbs, but precedes content adverbials (g). When combined with particle verbs, the predicative comes between the verb and the particle (h):

g. Han hadde vrt syk igr. he had been ill yesterday He had been ill yesterday.

h. Den ser fin ut. it looks nice PART It looks nice.

English and Norwegian are very similar at this point. However, in English, there is no visible agreement in number and gender between the predicative complement and the subject or the object.

2.1.7 Content adverbials

In general, Norwegian is like English with respect to its use of adverbials in the sentence. Content adverbials modify the event expressed in the sentence with respect to manner, place, time, condition, etc. They may modify the verb (a), an adjective (b), or another adverbial (c):

(1) a. Han kjrer alltid forsiktig. he drives always carefully He always drives carefully.

b. Hun er svrt tjukk. she is very fat She is very fat.

c. Han ryker ganske mye. he smokes quite a lot He smokes quite a lot.

Norwegian has two types of content adverbials, depending on how closely bound the adverbial is to the verb: bound content adverbials (d), and free content adverbials (e). In sentences that include both, the bound content adverbial precedes the free content adverbial, as illustrated in (d), where the underlined elements are bound content adverbials, and imorgen is a free content adverbial:

d. Jeg vil snakke med deg om dette imorgen. I want talk with you about this tomorrow I want to talk to you about this tomorrow.

e. Han savnet henne allerede. he missed her already He missed her already.

However, in contrast to English, free content adverbials may appear to the left of the main verb in Norwegian:

f. Han har i noen situasjoner ikke snakket sant. he has in some situations not spoken truly He has in some situations not told the truth.

When there are several free content adverbials in the verb phrase, their order depends on the function of the adverbial in the communicative structure of the clause. When the adverbial is a subordinate clause, it is placed after other adverbials (g). In addition, adverbials denoting time or cause usually follow other free adverbials (h). Finally, whereas free adverbials that refer to time, location, or cause usually are found after the bound adverbials, free adverbials denoting manner, duration, and iteration often come before bound adverbials (i):

g. Jon arbeidet p kvelden uten at sjefen viste om det. Jon worked at night.the without that boss.the knew about it Jon worked in the evening without his boss knowing it.

h. Han hadde vrt her da. he had been here then He had been here then.

i. De hadde sett surt p ham. they had looked angrily at him They had looked angrily at him.

2.2 THE NOUN PHRASE

The noun phrase has a noun or a pronoun as its head: the man. In addition, the phrase may include other elements, such as determiners, adjectives, and prepositional phrases: the young man from Paris. The noun phrase prototypically functions as the subject or the object of the clause, or as the object of a preposition. It may also function as a possessor:

(1) a. Subject: Vikingene levde p 800- 900- og begynnelsen av 1000-tallet. vikings.the lived on 800 900 and beginning.the of 1000 century.the

The vikings lived in the 8th, 9th, and the beginning of the the 10th century.

b. Object: Torkjel dreper mannen. Torkjel kills man.the Thorkell kills the man.

c. Object of preposition: Han klarte ikke lfte kniven med hnda. he managed not to lift knife.the with hand.the He couldnt manage to lift the knife with his hand.

d. Possessor: mannens oppfinnelse man.thes discovery the mans discovery

Note that when a pronoun is the head of a noun phrase, its form varies according to whether it is the subject, a possessor, or has some other function:

e. Subject: De levde p 800- 900- og begynnelsen av 1000-tallet. they lived on 800 900 and beginning.the of 1000 century.the They lived in the 8th, 9th, and the beginning of the the 10th century.

f. Object: Torkjel dreper ham. Torkjel kills him Thorkell kills him.

g. Object of preposition: Han klarte ikke lfte kniven med den. he managed not to lift knife.the with it He couldnt manage to lift the knife with it.

h. Possessor: hans oppfinnelse his discovery his discovery

These different forms are referred to as different cases.

2.2.1 Noun phrase word order

The overall order of elements in the Norwegian noun phrase is the same as in English. There may be elements in front of or after the head noun. Determiners, like den, det, denne, dette, disse, etc. as well as quantifiers and adjectives come before the noun, while prepositional phrases and relative clauses come after it:

Determiner Quantifier Adjective Head Postnominal modifier disse to gamle bkene om Troms these two old.DEF books.the about Troms these two old books about Troms

In Norwegian, determiners, quantifiers, and adjectives all agree with the head of the noun phrase in number and gender. In addition, the adjectives also agree in definiteness with the head.

The word order of Norwegian noun phrases is usually very much like that of English (despite the definite suffix), but there is one striking difference. Possessive phrases come after a definite noun:

Indefinite: possessor precedes head noun:

Jons bok, mi bokJohns book my bookJohns book my book

Definite: possessor follows head noun:

boka til Jon, boka mibook.the to John book.the myJohns book my book

2.2.2 Indefinite noun phrases

The indefinite noun phrase lacks any marker of definiteness. Compare the definites the milk and the dog with the indefinites milk and a dog. Here are some examples of Norwegian indefinite noun phrases:

(1) a. mange hunder, mye melk many dogs much milk(1) b. noen hunder, noe melk some dogs some milk(1) c. tre hunder, melk three dogs milk

As in English, Norwegian indefinite noun phrases may have a nominal head (d), or an indefinite pronoun (e-f) as head:

(1) d. Alfred Nobel ville bli forfatter. Alfred Nobel would become author Alfred Nobel wanted to become an author.

(1) e. Noen liker mrkt l bedre enn lyst. some like dark beer better than light Some people like dark beer better than light.

(1) f. Han har gjort noe dumt. he has done something stupid He has done something stupid.

But in addition, Norwegian noun phrases may lack a head (g):

(1) g. Gamle ser ofte nobelprisseremonien p TV. old watch often Nobel Prize ceremony.the on TV Old people often watch the Nobel Prize ceremony on TV.

All these three types of phrases may have an adjective in front of the head, and a prepositional phrase or a clause following the head:

(1) h. Produksjon av l er ofte regulert av streng lovgivning. production of beer is often regulated by strong legislation

The production of beer is often regulated by strict legislations.

(1) j. Han har gjort noe veldig dumt. he has done something very stupid He has done something very stupid.

(1) i. Noen av Jomsvikingene ble tatt til fange av den norske hren. some of Jomsvikings.the became taken to captive by the Norwegian force.the Some of the Jomsvikings where captured by the Norwegian force.

The most striking difference between English and Norwegian indefinite noun phrases is that Norwegian more frequently allows the omission of the indefinite article:

(1) k. Norge og Sverige var i union med hverandre til 1905. Norway and Sweden were in union with eachother till 1905 Norway and Sweden were in a union together until 1905.

(1) l. Nobel var kjemiker og oppfinner. Nobel was chemist and inventor Nobel was a chemist and an inventor.

2.2.2.1 Indefinite noun phrases with a nominal head

An indefinite noun phrase may or may not include a quantifier such as en, to, ingen, alle:

(1) a. en medalje, to isbjrner a medal two polarbears

(1) b. ingen kake, alle hus no cake all houses

The Norwegian indefinite article comes in three different genders: en, ei, et (masculine, feminine, and neuter, respectively: sometimes the masculine can be substituted for the feminine, and some writers do not use the feminine form at all). This indefinite article is only used in the singular. It behaves very much like a quantifier, and it does not co-occur with other quantifiers:

(1) c. en gutt, ei kake, et hus a boy a cake a house

(1) d. * ei ingen kake, * et alle hus a no cake a all houses

The number one is written like this: n (masculine), ei (feminine), ett (neuter). Note that the feminine form is written the same as the indefinite article, but it is pronounced with more stress.

(1) e. n gutt, ei kake, ett hus one boy one cake one house

Note that whereas the indefinite article is more or less always included in English indefinite noun phrases, it is frequently left out in Norwegian (cf. 2.2.5 Bare Noun Phrases): Jenta hadde kjole p seg. vs. The girl had a dress on. Mora mi er lege. vs. My mother is a doctor. In Norwegian, there is also a three-way gender distinction on nouns, which is also expressed on the articles. English does not have such a gender distinction.

2.2.2.2 Indefinite noun phrases with a pronominal head

Indefinite pronouns (noe, noen)may be the head of indefinite noun phrases. These pronouns may stand on their own, or have an adjective following them:

(1) a. Har det hendt noe? Has it happened anything Has anything happened?

(1) b. Noe merkelig hendte i gr. Something strange happened yesterday Something strange happened yesterday.

Noe is singular and neuter, while noen can be plural or masculine/feminine or both. In either form, it can be used both in positive and negative contexts, and thus corresponds both to English some and any.

(1) c. Har du noen ssken? Ja, jeg har noen. / Nei, jeg har ikke noen. (ssken is plural)

Have you any siblings yes I have some no I have not any

Do you have any sisters or brothers? Yes, I have some. No, I dont have any.

(1) d. Er det noen bank her? Jeg ser ikke noen. (bank is masculine) Is it any bank here I see not any Is there a bank here? I cant see one.

(1) e. Vi har kjpt noe kjtt. / Vi har ikke kjpt noe kjtt. (kjtt is neuter) we have bought some meat we have not bought any meat We have bought some meat. We have not bought any meat.

2.2.2.3 Headless indefinite noun phrases

A headless indefinite noun phrase looks like an ordinary headed indefinite noun phrase that lacks the head (pro)noun. In these phrases, some other element, like an adjective (gamle) or a quantifier (femti) is the most important part of the phrase:

(1) a. Unge leser ikke vikingesagaer lenger. young read not Viking.sagas longer Young people dont read the Viking sagas anymore.

(1) b. Han fylte femti i gr. he turned fifty yesterday He turned fifty yesterday.

Such headless indefinite noun phrases are rare but are still much more common in Norwegian than in English. This is especially true of those noun phrases where an adjective is the most important element.

2.2.3 Definite noun phrases

The definite noun phrase is generally headed by a noun with the definite ending, and it may also contain an adjective inflected for definiteness. These noun phrases express definite meaning (so do names and pronouns, just like in English). A definite noun phrase with an adjective has a definite article like in English, but also has a definite suffix on the noun. Definite noun phrases with no adjectives usually do not have any article, just the definite suffix:

(1) a. Isbjrnen var vennlig. Den lille isbjrnen var vennlig. polarbear.the was friendly the little polarbear was friendly The polarbear was friendly. The little polarbear was friendly.

(1) b. Vi l p stranda. Vi l p den hvite stranda. we lay on beach.the we lay on the white beach.the We lay on the beach. We lay on the white beach.

(1) c. Vi har kjpt huset. Vi har kjpt det rde huset. we have bought house.the we have bought the red house.the We have bought the house. We have bought the red house.

The main difference between English and Norwegian concerning definite noun phrases is that whereas English expresses definiteness with a prenominal definite article, Norwegian expresses definiteness with a definiteness suffix attached to the noun. However, when the definite suffix appears in addition to a separate determiner, the suffix may appear to be redundant.

2.2.3.1 Definite noun phrases with a definite nominal head

A definite noun may stand alone in a definite noun phrase, or it may have elements in front of it or after it. Before the noun, there may be definite determiners, quantifiers, and adjectives, while after the noun we may find prepositional phrases or clauses:

(1) a. denne kniven, alle landene, vinneren av prisen this knife.the all countries.the winner.the of prize.the this knife all the countries the winner of the prize

(1) b. den smarte mannen som oppdaget rntgenstrler the smart man.the who discovered X-rays the smart man who discovered X-rays

In Norwegian, adjectives are inflected for definiteness in front of definite nouns (this inflection only consists of an -e suffix, in most cases). In such phrases, a free definite article is included in front of the adjective in addition to the definiteness ending on the noun:

(2) a. den lille sykkelen, den gode boka, det hye treet the little bicycle.the the good book.the the high tree.the the little bicycle the good book the high tree

(1) b. de hvite hestene the white horses.the the white horses

This is sometimes called Double Definiteness.

In contrast to what we find in English, adjectives are inflected for definiteness in Norwegian. When there is an adjective in the Norwegian definite noun phrase, a prenominal article needs to be included. However, the definite suffix still cannot be left out.

2.2.3.2 Definite noun phrases with a proper name as its head

A proper name may function as a noun phrase by itself, but it may also have elements in front of it, such as definite determiners or adjectives:

(1) a. Torkjel dreper mannen. Torkjel kills man.the Torkjel kills the man.

(1) b. min Maria, denne uskyldige Maria my Maria this innocent Maria my Maria this innocent Maria

Notice that the name does not get a definite suffix. Prepositional phrases and clauses may follow the proper name in a definite noun phrase:

(1) c. Lorenz som la grunnlaget for etologi. Lorenz who laid foundation.the for ethology Lorenz who laid down the foundation of ethology

2.2.3.3 Definite noun phrases with a definite pronoun as its head

A definite pronoun may function as a noun phrase by itself, but other elements, such as quantifiers and adjectives may come before or after it. These definite pronouns may be followed by prepositional phrases and clauses.

(1) a. Har du sett denne? have you seen this Have you seen this?

(1) b. Alle vi tre er like tapre som Jomsvikingene. all we three are as brave as Jomsvikings.the All three of us are as brave as the Jomsvikings.

(1) c. Han som tok prisen br f ren. he who took prize.the should get honour.the He who received the prize should be honoured.

(1) d. Vi fra Troms drikker ofte mack-l. we from Troms drink often Mack- beer We who are from Troms often drink Mack beer.

In Norwegian the so-called proximal demonstratives (det/den that, de those) are identical in form to the preadjectival definite article, and are also identical in form to pronouns. Thus, when a noun phrase consists only of a word like den, it could be understood to mean it (pronoun) or that (demonstrative). When it is followed by an adjective as in den frste, it is more natural to gloss it in English as the (here, the first), but in English this often requires that one be inserted: den grnne the green one. Note also that Norwegian uses the definite pronoun den to refer to humans, in examples like the following:

(1) e. Den som kommer frst i ml, fr en fin premie. that who comes first in goal gets a nice prize He who wins, gets a nice prize.

2.2.3.4 Definite noun phrases with no definite noun or pronoun as its head

There are two types of definite noun phrases in Norwegian where the definiteness is not indicated on the head noun. First, in definite noun phrases introduced by a possessor, nouns are not inflected for definiteness (cf. 2.2.4):

(1) a. min bil, di bok, vrt hus, deres biler my car your book our house their cars

Secondly, there are definite noun phrases which lack the head (cf. 2.2.2.3):

(1) b. Han fylte femti i gr. he turned fifty yesterday He turned fifty yesterday.

2.2.4 Noun phrases with possessors

A noun phrase with a possessor is definite (cf. 2.2.3.2 and 2.2.3.4). As in English, possessive noun phrases may either contain a noun phrase ending in s in front of the head noun (Jons bil Johns car), or a possessive pronoun (min bil my

car). In both cases, the possessor marks the definiteness, and it is followed by an indefinite noun. However, in Norwegian, the possessive pronoun frequently follows the head noun in possessive noun phrases. In such phrases, the head noun is in the definite form (bilen min my car).

The most commonly used possessive construction in Norwegian is the one with the possessive pronoun following a definite head noun. This construction is not possible in English. Note that Norwegian makes extensive use of reflexive possessives, sin/si/sitt/sine.

2.2.5 Bare noun phrases

A bare noun phrase has a nominal head without a definite or indefinite article, and it also lacks other quantifying modifiers. Such noun phrases may have a number of different functions in Norwegian: predicative, object, complement to a preposition, or subject:

(1) a. Predicative: Han er kjemiker. he is chemist He is a chemist.

(1) b. Object: Min snn spiller tennis. my son plays tennis My son plays tennis.

(1) c. Complement to a preposition: De hrte p radio. they listened to radio They listened to the radio.

(1) d. Subject: Grammatikk er vanskelig. grammar is difficult Grammar is difficult.

Bare noun phrases are much more common in Norwegian than in English.

2.2.6 Postnominal modifiers

Postnominal modifiers are elements following the head noun. These elements may be prepositional phrases, clauses, adjective phrases, participial phrases, or noun phrases:

(1) a. en kasse med frukt a box with fruit a box of fruit

(1) b. den bilen du ser der the car you see there the car you see there

(1) c. en kasse full av klr a box full of clothes A box full of clothes

(1) d. en kasse fylt med klr a box filled with clothes A box filled with clothes

(1) e. Norges kronprins Haakon Magnus Norways crown-prince Haakon Magnus Norways crown prince, Haakon Magnus

2.3 ADJECTIVAL PHRASESThe adjectival phrase is a phrase with an adjective as its head. When there are no modifiers, the head constitutes the whole phrase, as in (a). When the adjectival phrase contains a modifier, this is usually a degree element (b), some other type of adverbial (c), a prepositional complement (d), or an object (e):

(1) a. Vikingenes langhus var store. vikings.thes long-houses were big The vikings long-houses were big.

(1) b. Eventyr er veldig spennende.

fairy tales are very exciting Fairy tales are very exciting.

(1) c. Hun var overraskende hy. she was surprisingly tall She was surprisingly tall.

(1) d. Jomsvikingene var ikke redde for dden. Jomsvikings.the were not afraid for death The Jomsvikings were not afraid of dying.

(1) e. Han er ikke verd noe. he is not worth anything He is not worth anything.

Adjectival phrases are often used in comparative constructions, in which case the basis for the comparison usually must be expressed in the complement of the adjective (f-h):

(1) f. Eirik var like rask som Christopher. Eirik was like fast as Christopher Eirik was as fast as Christopher.

(1) g. Eirik var raskere enn Christopher. Eirik was faster than Christopher Erik was faster than Christopher.

(1) h. Eirik var raskest av europerne. Eirik was fastest of Europeans.the Eirik was the fastest of the Europeans.

Most adjective phrases can be used as premodifiers of nouns (attributes) or as complements of verbs (predicatives) (i-j). In these functions there is concord between the adjective and the noun it modifies in number (SG, PL) and gender (M for masculine gender):

(1) i. Alfred Nobel var en svrt geners mann. Alfred Nobel was a very generous.M.SG man Alfred Nobel was a very generous man.

(1) j. De var svrt generse. they were very generous.PL They were very generous.

The adjective may also function as an adverbial (k):

(1) k. Vikingene seilte langsomt langs kysten. vikings.the sailed slowly along coast.the The vikings sailed slowly along the coast.

In Norwegian, the adjectives agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and definiteness. English does not show such agreement.

2.3.1 Adjectival phrase word order

In addition to the adjectival head, a Norwegian adjectival phrase may contain different kinds of modifiers. The order of the head and the modifiers depends on the syntactic use of the adjectival phrase; there is one scheme for adjectival phrases that function as a predicative or an adverbial, and another scheme for adjectival phrases that function as an adjective attribute.

2.3.1.1 Adjectival phrases functioning as predicatives or as adverbials

The adjectival phrase can have modifiers both before and after the adjective. The following scheme summarises the possible word orders for adjectival phrases used predicatively or as adverbials:

(1) Obj . Adverbial Adverbial Adjective (head) Object Adverbial a. hvor tung how heavy b. juridisk absolutt holdbar legally absolutely tenable c. meg n mer fremmed enn fr me now more strange than before d. helt overlegen sin motstander totally superior his opponent e. uegnet for langturer unsuitable for long-distance-trips

Immediately in front of the adjective we find adverbials of degree, Hvor tung er den? How heavy is it?(a) and manner (Han var skremmende energisk He was frighteningly energetic). Various kinds of free adverbials may be placed in front of these (b), as in Avtalen virker juridisk absolutt holdbar The agreement seems legally absolutely tenable. Example (c) shows that there is an object position in front of the two adverbial positions, Hun er meg n mer fremmed enn fr She seems more strange to me now than before. An object may also be placed immediately after the adjective (d), Han var helt overlegen sin motstander He was totally superior to his opponent. Finally, example (e) shows that there is an adverbial position to the right of the postadjectival object position, Bilen er uegnet for langturer The car is not suitable for long distance trips.

2.3.1.2 Adjectival phrases functioning as prenominal attributes

When used attributively, the Norwegian adjective phrase must end with the head, that is, in this use there are no postadjectival positions. In addition, the adjective cannot have an object in front of it. The following scheme summarises the possible word orders for adjectival phrases used predicatively or as adverbials:

(1) Adverbial Adverbial Adjective (head) a. veldig rik very rich b. juridisk absolutt holdbar legally absolutely tenable c. for alderen svrt smart for age.the very clever

Adverbials of degree and manner are placed immediately in front of the adjective (a), en veldig rik mann a very rich man. Free adverbials, including negation and other sentence adverbials, are placed to the left of this adverbial position (b), en juridisk absolutt holdbar avtale a legally absolutely tenable agreement. Phrases that can occur in the final adverbial position when the adjectival phrase is used predicatively, may sometimes be placed in front of the adjective when the adjectival phrase is attributively used (c) en for alderen svrt smart jente a girl who is very clever for her age.

Adjectival phrases such as the one illustrated in (c) are not possible in English.

2.3.2 Comparison

When a comparison is expressed, the standard against which the comparison is made is usually added as a postmodifying phrase.

2.3.2.1 Equal comparisons

For an equal comparison, that is when we for example compare two persons of the same height, Norwegian uses like Adjective som as Adjective as (a), or ikke Adjective-ere enn not Adjective-er than (b):

(1) a. Jomsvikingen var like tapper som sin far. Jomsviking.the was as brave as his father The Jomsviking was as brave as his father.

(1) b. Nordmennene var ikke taprere enn jomsvikingene. Norwegians.the were not braver than Jomsvikings.the The Norwegians were not braver than the Jomsvikings.

2.3.2.2 Unequal comparisons

When the things compared are different, the comparative form of the adjective is used. The postmodifying phrase indicating the standard against which the comparison is made, is introduced by enn than (a):

(1) Isbjrner er farligere enn vaskebjrner. polar bears are dangerous-COMP than raccoons Polar bears are more dangerous than raccoons.

2.3.2.3 Comparative and superlative

When comparing only two objects, we can use either the comparative form (a), or the superlative form (b), whereas when more than two objects are compared, we have to use the superlative form. The objects that are compared are introduced in a postmodifying prepositional phrase beginning with av of, or blant among:

(1) a. Eva er den kortere av de to jentene. Eva is the shorter of the two girls.the Eva is the shorter of the two girls.

(1) b. Lisa er den korteste blant dem. Lisa is the shortest among them Lisa is the shortest among them.

The standard with which the comparison is made is indicated by a prepositional phrase with i in (c):

(1) c. Anna er den eldste jenta i klassen. Anna is the oldest girl.the in class.the Anna is the oldest girl in her class.

2.3.2.4 Comparison with a definite norm

Sometimes a comparison is made between an object and a definite standard or norm understood in the context. In such cases, Norwegian often uses som s than that to refer to the standard:

(1) a. Jon m vre to meter lang. Nei han er lengre enn som s. Jon must be two meters tall No he is taller than as so Jon must be two meters tall. No, he is taller than that.

English does not have an expressions corresponding to som s in Norwegian. In English we have to use a referential pronoun that, as illustrated in (a) above. This is also possible in Norwegian, in which case we use the referential pronoun det it:

(1) b. Jon m vre to meter lang. Nei han er lengre enn det. Jon must be two meters tall No he is taller than it Jon must be two meters tall. No, he is taller than that.

2.3.2.5 Sufficiency and excess

The words nok enough and altfor too are used to indicate sufficiency and excess. The norm to which these words refer can be indicated by an infinitive clause introduced by til to, (a-c). As illustrated in (b), nok may also occur after the adjective:

(1) a. Han er nok rik til reise. b. Han er rik nok til reise he is rich enough rich to to travel He is rich enough to go travelling.

(1) c. Han er altfor rik til reise. he is too rich to to travel He is too rich to go travelling.

As in Norwegian, too always has to be placed in front of the adjective in English. In contrast to Norwegian, however, enough always has to follow the adjective in English.

2.4 ADVERB PHRASES

The adverb phrase is a phrase with an adverb as its head. Very often there is no other element in the phrase (a). When a modifier appears, it is usually an adverb of degree or manner (b):

(1) a. Han var alltid tapper. he was always brave He was always brave

(1) b. Hun sprang veldig fort. she ran very fast She ran very fast

Some adverbs may also take prepositional or clausal complements:

(1) c. De bodde langt borte fra alle. they lived far away from everyone They lived far away from everyone

The adverb phrase usually functions as an adverbial, modifying verbs (b), adjectives, participles, and adverbs (a), but occasionally also a noun (d):

(1) d. Maten her er veldig god. food.the here is very good The food here is very good

2.4.1 Adverb phrase word order

When modifiers are included in addition to the adverb head, the structure of the modifiers generally determines their position. In front of the adverb head we find modifying participal phrases (utskt in (a)), adjective phrases (langt in (b)), and adverb phrases (mye in (c)). After the adverb head, we find prepositional phrases (i skogen in (b)), comparative phrases (enn tidligere in (c)), and modifiers with clauses or infinitival phrases (som han gjr in (d)):

(1) Premodifier Adverb head Postmodifier a. utskt vakkert exquisitely beautifulb. langt borte i skogen far away in forest.the far away in the forestc. mye mere enn tidligere much more than befored. akkurat snn som han gjr exactly so as he does

exactly like he is doing

2.4.2 Syntactic function

The adverb phrase prototypically functions as an adverbial:

(1) a. Han har bodd utenlands i flere r. he has lived abroad in several years He has lived abroad for several years

(1) b. N har han sannsynligvis kommet hjem. now has he probably come home Now he has probably come home

It may also appear as an attribute:

(1) c. Klimaet der var ganske tft. climate.the there was quite rough The climate there was quite rough

(1) d. Dette landet langt over Atlanteren likte han godt. this land.the far over Atlantic.the liked he well This land way over the Atlantic pleased him

2.5 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASESThe prepositional phrase is a phrase with a preposition as its head. It prototypically consists of the preposition and its complement. In Norwegian, the preposition usually takes a noun phrase as its complement (a), but it may also take a subordinate clause (b), or an infinitival (c):

(1) a. i langskip in longships

(1) b. beslutningen om at pengene skulle gis til prominente personer decision.the about that money.the should be-given to prominent persons the decision that the money should be given to prominent persons

(1) c. beslutningen om gi pengene til prominente personer decision.the about to give money.the to prominent persons the decision to give the money to prominent persons

Norwegian allows preposition stranding of all kinds of noun phrase complements. This means that the preposition may appear at the end of the clause, lacking a complement. Usually the complement is found as the first element of the clause:

(2) Hva fikk Albert Einstein nobelprisen for? what got Albert Einstein Nobel Prize.the for What did Albert Einstein get the Nobel Prize for?

2.5.1 Prepositional phrase word order

As in all the Germanic languages, the Norwegian preposition precedes its complement:

(1) p tnner in barrels

Occasionally, the preposition follows its complement. Certain prepositions are optionally placed behind their complement when they have a particular meaning or in lexicalised constructions:

(2) a. oss kvinner imellom us women between as one woman to another

(1) b. ret rundt year.the round all year round

In addition to the preposition and its complement, a prepositional phrase may sometimes contain a modifier. This modifier is placed in front of the preposition:

(3) midt framfor meg middle in-front-of me right in front of me

2.5.2 Complement types

The complement of a preposition is usually a noun phrase i stolen in the chair, bak meg behind me, med hvilken penn with which pen. Norwegian prepositions also take subordinate clauses as their complements:

(1) a. Det var et tegn p at jomsvikingene ikke ville gi seg. that was a sign on that Jomsvikings.the not would give REFL That was a sign that the Jomsvikings would not give in.

In addition, the complement of a preposition may be an infinitival phrase (b), a prepositional phrase (c), or an adverb phrase (d):

(2) a. Han bestemte seg for gi pengene til prominente personer. he decided REFL for to give money.the to prominent persons He decided to give the money to prominent persons.

(2) b. Denne avisen er fra fr krigen. this newspaper is from before war.the This newspaper is from before the war.

(2) c. Siden nr begynte du drikke l? since when began you to drink beer Since when did you start drinking beer?

2.5.3 Case assignment

In Norwegian, only pronouns show case, and they appear in the non-nominative form when following a preposition fra meg from me, til deg for you,av ham by him, hos henne at her place, framfor oss in front of us, over dem over them.

Norwegian used to have a more complex case system, and we can see traces of that in some more or less lexicalised prepositional phrases. Most of these phrases consist of the preposition til to + genitive of a bare noun phrase til skogs to the forest, til sjs at sea. There are also a few expressions where the bare noun phrase has the ending -e:

(1) a. komme til rette come to right.E be found, turn up

(1) b. g mann av huse go man of house.E turn out to a man

Pronouns show the non-nominative case after prepositions in English, just as it does in Norwegian. The other traces of the case system found in some lexicalised expressions in Norwegian are not found in English.

2.5.4 Preposition stranding

Norwegian prepositions may be stranded, which means that the preposition is not immediately to the left of its complement. Usually, the complement is in the first position:

(1) a. Bygg kan man brygge l av. barley can one brew beer of Beer can be brewed on barley.

The preposition may also be stranded when the complement is clefted (b), or in a relative clause (c):

(1) b. Det var Einstein de ga prisen til. it was Einstein they gave prize.the to It was Einstein they gave the prize to.

(1) c. Marie Curie som prisen i fysikk gikk til dde av leukemi. Marie Curie who prize.the in physics went to died of leukemia Marie Curie, who was awarded the prize in physics, died of leukemia.

A particular case of preposition stranding is found in certain passive clauses, where the subject in the passive clause corresponds to the complement of the preposition in the corresponding active clause (d) (cf the active clause Du m flytte p bilen din You need to move your car):

(1) d. Bilen din m flyttes p. car.the your must be-moved on Your car needs to be moved.

2.5.2 Function

Norwegian prepositional phrases function as adverbials (a), attributes (b), and predicative complements (c):

(1) a. let lagres i tnner. beer.the be-stored in barrels The beer is stored in barrels.

(1) b. Ryktet om deres heltemot var ikke overdrevent. rumour.the about their bravery was not exaggerated The rumour of their bravery was not exaggerated.

(1) c. Komiten utnevnte henne til prisvinner. committee.the appointed her to laureate The committee appointed her a laureate.

In addition, prepositional phrases may be complements of prepositions (d) and appositions (e):

(1) d. Han blir her til i neste uke. he stays here until i next week He stays here until next week.

(1) e. Med skjorten oppkneppet gikk han inn i rommet. with shirt.the up-button-ed went he in in room.the With his shirt unbuttoned he went into the room.

2.6 SUBJUNCTION PHRASESWhereas subjunctions prototypically introduce embedded clauses (3.8.2), it is also possible to find them in front of constructions that lack a subject and a predicate (a). Usually such constructions can be seen as reduced or truncated clauses. There are three main types: comparative subjunction phrases (a), predicative subjunction phrases (b), and concessive subjunction phrases (c).

The Norwegian comparative subjunction phrase consists of a comparative subjunction (enn than or som as) followed by a noun phrase or some other phrase that may function as a primary part of a clause:

(1) a. Jomsvikingene var taprere enn nordmennene. Jomsvikings.the were braver than Norwegians.the The Jomsvikings were braver than the Norwegians.

The predicative subjunction phrase consists of som as followed by a noun phrase, an adjective, or a participal phrase:

(1) b. N er sommeren som varmest. now is summer.the as warmest Now the summer is as warm as it gets.

The Norwegian concessive subjunction phrase consists of a concessive subjunction and a complement. The most common subjunction in Norwegian is selv om even though:

(1) c. Han va