Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns: jeg, du, han/hun/den/det, vi, dere, de — including gender distinctions and formal De
Can use all Norwegian personal pronouns correctly, including den/det for objects
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Jeg er student og du er lærer.
I am a student and you are a teacher.
Han jobber her, men hun bor i Oslo.
He works here, but she lives in Oslo.
Vi bor her, men de bor i Bergen.
We live here, but they live in Bergen.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Norwegian personal pronouns replace nouns and names.
| Person | Norwegian | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sing. | jeg | I |
| 2nd sing. | du | you |
| 3rd sing. (m) | han | he |
| 3rd sing. (f) | hun | she |
| 3rd sing. (common) | den | it |
| 3rd sing. (neuter) | det | it |
| 1st pl. | vi | we |
| 2nd pl. | dere | you (pl.) |
| 3rd pl. | de | they |
Note: du is informal and used with everyone. Formal De is rare in modern Norwegian.
den vs det for things: den for common gender (en-words), det for neuter (et-words).
Common Error Patterns
Uses det for common-gender nouns or den for neuter nouns
Den = en-words (common), det = et-words (neuter). Learn noun gender with the noun.
Confuses dere (you plural) with de (they)
Dere = the group you are speaking TO. De = the group you are speaking ABOUT.
Jeg er student og du er lærer.
I am a student and you are a teacher.
'Jeg' = I, 'du' = you (informal, used with everyone in modern Norwegian).
Han jobber her, men hun bor i Oslo.
He works here, but she lives in Oslo.
'Han' = he, 'hun' = she. Norwegian distinguishes grammatical gender for people.
Vi bor her, men de bor i Bergen.
We live here, but they live in Bergen.
'Vi' = we, 'de' = they. Both are plural pronouns but refer to different groups.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises