B1
grammatikk
Verbs in Past Tense
Learn how Norwegian verbs are conjugated in the past tense — weak and strong verbs.
To talk about something that happened in the past we use the past tense (preteritum). Here are the rules:
Weak verbs — regular
Weak verbs: add -et, -te or -de
snakke → snakket | kjøpe → kjøpte | leve → levde
| Infinitive | Present | Past | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| å snakke | snakker | snakket | Jeg snakket med legen. — I talked to the doctor. |
| å jobbe | jobber | jobbet | Hun jobbet hele dagen. — She worked all day. |
| å kjøpe | kjøper | kjøpte | Jeg kjøpte brød i går. — I bought bread yesterday. |
Strong verbs — irregular
| Infinitive | Present | Past | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| å være — to be | er | var | Jeg var på jobb i går. — I was at work yesterday. |
| å ha — to have | har | hadde | Jeg hadde vondt i hodet. — I had a headache. |
| å gå — to go | går | gikk | Vi gikk til sentrum. — We walked to the centre. |
| å komme — to come | kommer | kom | Hun kom for sent. — She arrived late. |
| å se — to see | ser | så | Jeg så filmen i går. — I watched the film yesterday. |
| å si — to say | sier | sa | Han sa ingenting. — He said nothing. |
| å ta — to take | tar | tok | Jeg tok bussen. — I took the bus. |
Tip
Time words that signal past tense: i går (yesterday), forrige uke (last week), for to dager siden (two days ago). When you see these words use the past tense!
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