Present perfect: har + past participle, contrast with simple past
Can form and use present perfect with 'har + participle' and choose correctly between perfect and simple past
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Jeg har aldri spist lutefisk.
I have never eaten lutefisk.
Har du lest denne boken? Ja, jeg leste den i fjor.
— Have you read this book? — Yes, I read it last year.
Hun har aldri vært i Norge, men hun vil gjerne reise dit.
She has never been to Norway, but she really wants to travel there.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Norwegian present perfect = har + past participle. Use it when no specific past time is given. Contrast: 'Jeg har spist' (I have eaten, relevant now) vs 'Jeg spiste' (I ate, specific time).
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesUses perfect where preterite is required (with specific time expressions) or vice versa
With 'i går', 'i fjor', 'for X siden', 'i 2020' → always use preterite. Without time reference or with 'aldri/alltid/noen gang' → use perfect.
Writes 'er gått' or 'er kommet' instead of 'har gått'/'har kommet' (German/French transfer)
Norwegian uses 'har' for ALL verbs in perfect, unlike German (ist gegangen) or French (est allé). Always 'har'.
Jeg har aldri spist lutefisk.
I have never eaten lutefisk.
'Har spist' = present perfect. 'Aldri' (never) = frequency adverb, no specific time, so perfect is correct.
Har du lest denne boken? Ja, jeg leste den i fjor.
— Have you read this book? — Yes, I read it last year.
First sentence: no time given → har lest (perfect). Second: 'i fjor' (last year) = specific past time → leste (preterite).
Hun har aldri vært i Norge, men hun vil gjerne reise dit.
She has never been to Norway, but she really wants to travel there.
'Har vært' = perfect of 'være' (to be). 'Aldri' with no time reference → perfect tense.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises