Particle Verbs — Norwegian Grammar

Many Norwegian verbs combine with a short word such as (out), (on), (with) or (off). Together they form a new verb with a meaning of its own, much like English "look out", "put on" or "get off". The little word is called a particle. It is pronounced with clear stress and is always written as a separate word.

(see) → (look, seem)
(have) → (wear)
(take) → (put on), (bring along)
(go) → (get off)
(hear) → (listen to)
(see) → (look for)
(come) → (come back)

Folkene går av bussen.
The people get off the bus.
Jeg hører på musikk.
I am listening to music.
Jeg ser etter noe annet.
I am looking for something else.

The Particle Follows the Verb

The verb takes the tense ending and the particle stays where it is, after the verb. Unlike German, Norwegian never joins the particle to the front of the verb when it is conjugated.

Han ser trøtt ut.
He looks tired.
Han så trøtt ut.
He looked tired.
Jeg har tatt med kamera.
I have brought a camera.

Adjectives Sit Inside

With (look) and (sound), the adjective that says how something looks or sounds goes between the verb and .

Du ser syk ut.
You look ill.
Det ser bra ut.
It looks good.
Det høres flott ut.
That sounds great.

Where the Object Goes

A noun object normally comes after the particle. A short pronoun such as , or comes before it.

Ta med bagene dine.
Bring your bags.
Ta den med.
Bring it.
Gi meg pengene tilbake.
Give me back the money.
Gi den tilbake!
Give it back!

Particles with a Second Word

Some combinations take a preposition after the particle, and the whole group is learned as one expression.

- look forward to
- notice
- miss (an opportunity, a plane)

Jeg ser frem til å høre fra deg.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Du er den første som legger merke til det.
You are the first one to notice it.
Du vil gå glipp av flyet.
You will miss the plane.

When the Particle Joins the Word

The particle is written together with the verb only when the combination is used as an adjective or a noun. (sell out) gives (sold out).

Det blir utsolgt.
It is going to sell out.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Norwegian course

20 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 34. A few of them, with the words “Particle Verbs” is about in bold:

Kommer du tilbake i morgen?
Will you be back tomorrow?
Lesson 258
Du er den første som legger merke til det!
You are the first person to notice!
Lesson 337
Jeg vil kjøpe denne planten. Den vil se flott ut på rommet mitt.
I want to buy this plant. It will look great in my room.
Lesson 384

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