The Many Uses of 'det' — Norwegian Grammar

is one of the most frequent words in Norwegian. It means "it", "that" and "there", and it fills the subject slot in sentences about weather and time, where nothing else could stand.

It: Neuter Nouns

replaces a neuter noun, one that takes . Masculine and feminine nouns are replaced by instead.

Huset er nytt. Det er stort.
The house is new. It is big.
Boken er god. Den er interessant.
The book is good. It is interesting.

That: Situations and Statements

refers to an idea, an event or something just said, whatever its gender.

Det er sant!
That is true!
Hvorfor gjorde du det?
Why did you do that?
Jeg tror det.
I think so.

This Is, That Is

When pointing something out or naming it, and are used for every gender and number.

Hva er det? Det er en gammel radio.
What is that? It is an old radio.
Det er tomater.
Those are tomatoes.

Weather, Time and Situations

Norwegian needs a subject in every sentence, so stands in where English also uses "it".

Det regner.
It is raining.
Det er sent.
It is late.
Det er kaldt i dag.
It is cold today.

There Is, There Are

"There is" and "there are" both become . means "there exists", for things that exist at all rather than in one particular place.

Det er mange skyer på himmelen.
There are many clouds in the sky.
Det er en bensinstasjon i enden av veien.
There is a petrol station at the end of the road.
Det finnes mange jobber.
There are many jobs available.

It Is Nice To …: det + Adjective + å

A sentence that judges an activity starts with and an adjective, and names the activity with and an infinitive.

Det var hyggelig å møte deg.
It was nice to meet you.
Er det mulig å flytte den?
Is it possible to move it?
Det er vanskelig å lære norsk.
It is hard to learn Norwegian.

det in Fixed Expressions

Several everyday phrases contain a that English does not have.

Hvordan har du det?
How are you?
Ha det bra!
Goodbye!
Jeg har det travelt.
I am busy.

det at the Start for Emphasis

When as an object opens the sentence, the verb follows at once and the subject comes after it.

Det vet jeg ikke.
I don't know that.
Nei, det har jeg ikke.
No, I don't have that.

det Before an Adjective

In front of an adjective and a neuter noun, means "the": the noun then carries its own ending as well.

Se, dette er det nye huset mitt.
Look, this is my new house.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Norwegian course

91 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 1. A few of them, with the words “The Many Uses of 'det'” is about in bold:

Han sover også. Hun gjør det ikke.
He is also sleeping. She isn't.
Lesson 16
Hvordan har du det? Bra eller dårlig?
How are you feeling? Good or bad?
Lesson 61
Jeg har det flott! Jeg er ikke syk. Jeg er frisk.
I feel great! I am not sick. I am healthy.
Lesson 64

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