The Many Uses of 'bli' — Norwegian Grammar

is one of the busiest verbs in Norwegian. Its basic meaning is "become", but it also means "stay", it describes future conditions, and it forms the passive.

- infinitive
- present
- past
- perfect

Becoming

describes a change of state, with an adjective or a noun after it.

Når jeg studerer, blir jeg veldig trøtt.
When I study, I get very tired.
Du vil bli feit hvis du bare spiser usunn mat.
You will get fat if you only eat unhealthy food.
Han ble lege.
He became a doctor.

bli or være?

(be) describes how things are; describes how they come to be, or will be. The same adjective can follow either verb.

Han er lege.
He is a doctor.
Han ble lege.
He became a doctor.
Det er kaldt.
It is cold.
Det blir kaldt.
It is getting cold.

Age and the Clock

A new age or the next hour is something you "become".

I desember blir jeg sytten år gammel.
In December I turn seventeen.
Om fem minutter blir klokka ti.
In five minutes it will be ten o'clock.

Future Conditions

With an adjective, is the usual way to say what something will be like.

Det blir kaldt.
It is going to be cold.
Det blir ikke veldig dyrt.
It won't be very expensive.
Det blir utsolgt.
It is going to sell out.

Staying

also means "stay" or "remain", especially with a place or a length of time.

Jeg kan bli lenger.
I can stay longer.
Jeg blir hjemme i dag.
I am staying at home today.
Jeg blir borte en uke.
I will be away for a week.

bli med: Coming Along

With the particle , means "come along" or "join in".

Vil du bli med på kino?
Do you want to come along to the cinema?
Jeg blir gjerne med.
I would love to come along.

The Passive

With a past participle, turns an action around so that the focus falls on what happens to someone or something.

Jeg ble født på mandag.
I was born on a Monday.
Bilen blir reparert i morgen.
The car is being repaired tomorrow.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Norwegian course

13 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 77. A few of them, with the words “The Many Uses of 'bli'” is about in bold:

I juli blir elven veldig varm.
In July, the river becomes very warm.
Lesson 409

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