Chapter 12 of 16 · Explore the Norwegian path
Verbs and stories · Chapter 12 of 16
Once upon a time, and the words that hold a paragraph together
Det var en gang is how a Norwegian folk tale opens. Learn nine words that hold a paragraph together, and the pointed marks «like this» that Norwegian prints its speech inside.
≈ 3 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- Det var en gang …
day vahr en gang is the traditional opening of a Norwegian folk tale. - Nine joining words hold a paragraph together.
- Norwegian prints speech inside pointed marks, «like this».
- After a quoted line the doing word comes before the speaker.
Once upon a time…
Det var en gang …
day vahr en gang
Word for word, “it was one time”. The traditional opening of a Norwegian folk tale.
Nine words that join one line to the next
These are the words that turn separate sentences into a paragraph. Recognising one tells you whether a line adds, contrasts or explains.
| English | Norwegian | English | Norwegian |
|---|---|---|---|
| and | og | but | men |
| then | så | because | fordi |
| now | nå | again | igjen |
| very | veldig | also | også |
| one day | en dag |
så, nå and en dag take slot one, so the doing word comes next and the doer after it: Så kom bjørnen.
How Norwegian prints speech
Norwegian marks speech with pointed marks rather than the quotes you know. Compare the English on the left with the Norwegian to see where each mark sits.
Open a tale, and hear who spoke
- Det var en gang en liten mus.
The fairy-tale opening.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Det var en gang en liten mus.day vahr en gang en LEE-ten muus “Once upon a time there was a small mouse.” - Så gikk hunden hjem.
Something other than the doer took slot one.
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Så gikk hunden hjem.saw yik HUUN-en yem “Then the dog went home.”