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Verb Complementation - Norwegian

This page relates to the application A Norwegian Grammar Sparrer, see A Norwegian Grammar Sparrer.

On clicking on the icon below, you will come to the Sparrer:

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Instructions for its use are found at Classroom:Norwegian Grammar Checking


Types of argument constituents in Norwegian

Grammar traditions often classify sentence constituents according to whether they are 'required', or 'valence bound', by the main verb; those that are, are often called arguments, and those that are not, adjuncts. (This is not always easy to decide.) In one use of the word complement, adopted here, this is any type of argument apart from the subject. The constituent types listed below are commonly considered as arguments relative to the main verb, and are all found in Norwegian:


subject
object  ('direct object')
indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
the 'presented' NP in a presentational construction
secondary predicate
complement of a predicational or identifying Copula
'adverbial complement', i.e., a PP, Adv or AdvP serving as argument
'particle', an adverb with aspectual or less tangible impact

For a detailed survey of construction types instantiating these functions and combinations of them, see

For a related online multilingual valence lexicon, see Multilingual Verb Valence Lexicon.


The examples (1)-(14) below illustrate the placement of some of the argument types; the first two also show an adjunct, called adverbial, at the end of the clause. The examples at the same type illustrate the rather strict order of constituents in Norwegian: The subject precedes the verb, objects immediately follow the verb and precede any oblique arguments or adverbials. When there are two objects, the indirect object is the one occurring closest to the main verb. (On restrictions concerning clause internal adverbials, subject-verb inversion, and sequencing of auxiliary and main verbs, see the relevant pages listed below.)

Special topics

Obligatory subject and verb

Subject and Main Verb are generally necessary for making a grammatically wellformed clause. Thus, a subject cannot be omitted even if it is clear from the context, and copula verbs cannot be omitted.


Case in Norwegian

Case is marked only on some personal pronouns, with a subject – non-subject distinction. (See Personal pronouns in Norwegian.)


Infinitival complements, and homophony of coordinating conjunction and infinitival marker

By 'infinitival complements' we mean infinitival expressions serving as subject, object or oblique relative to a verb (called the 'matrix verb'). These expressions are built up exactly in the same way as subordinate finite clauses, except for lacking a subject, and having the first verb in infinitival form. They are usually initiated by the infinitival marker å. (See Infinitives in Norwegian.)

This marker is homophonous to the coordinationg conjunction og. The simplest practical way of deciding whether to use å or og in a given construction is by comparison with English: where you would use and in English, use og, and where you would use to in English, use å.


Predicatives following copulas, and adjective agreement

The Norwegian copula verbs are være and bli. They can not be omitted. The predicative following them can be formally of any type: AP, NP, PP. Adjectives occurring as predicative are in the strong form (cf. theinflection patterns described in The Noun Phrase - Norwegian), and agree in number and gender with the subject.


Obligatorily transitive verbs

An example in English of this category is devour: as opposed to eat, it requires that its logical object always be expressed. The Norwegian counterpart to devour is fortære. Notice that no matter how salient from context the object may be, it has to be expressed (as opposed to many languages which can drop an object when contextually given).


Reflexive verbs (See also Reflexives - Norwegian)

Reflexive verbs are verbs which are necessarily followed by a reflexive pronoun, a form of seg (see The Noun Phrase - Norwegian under Reflexives). Examples are skamme seg and liste seg, and the former takes the paradigm:

jeg skammer meg  ('I am ashamed')
du skammer deg  ('you are ashamed')
han skammer seg  ('he is ashamed')
hun skammer seg  ('she is ashamed')
den skammer seg  ('it [referred to by a masculine or feminine noun] is ashamed')
det skammer seg  ('it [referred to by a neuter noun] is ashamed')
vi skammer oss  ('we are ashamed')
dere skammer dere  ('you [plural] are ashamed')
de skammer seg  ('they are ashamed')



(1) Jeg skjenker deg et sverd før slaget.

Example with the pattern [ Subject Vmain IndirectObject DirectObject Adverbial ]:

Jeg skjenker deg et sverd før slaget.
“I give you a sword before the battle”
Jeg
jeg
1SGNOM
PN
skjenker
skjenker
givePRES
V
deg
deg
2SGACC
PN
et
et
INDEFNEUTSG
ART
sverd
sverd
sword
N
før
før
before
PREP
slaget
slaget
battleNEUTSGDEF
N
Subject     Vmain           Indir.Obj.   DirectObject               Adverbial

(2) Jeg snakket om henne etter slaget

Example with the pattern [ Subject Vmain Oblique Adverbial ]:

Jeg snakket om henne etter slaget.
“I talked about her after the battle”
Jeg
jeg
1SGNOM
PN
snakket
snakket
talkPRET
V
om
om
about
PREP
henne
henne
3SGFEMACC
PN
etter
etter
after
PREP
slaget
slaget
battleNEUTSGDEF
N
Subject     Vmain             Oblique                  Adverbial

(3) Det ruller en ball hit

Example with the pattern [ ExpletiveSubject Vmain DirectObject DirectionalAdvbl ]:

det ruller en ball hit
“a ball is rolling here”
det
det
SBJEXPLET
PN
ruller
ruller
rollPRES
Vitr
en
en
INDEFSGMASC
DET
ball
ball
ball
N
hit
hit
to-hereENDPNT
ADV
Subject        Vmain        DirectObject              DirectionalAdvbl
Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJind	- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate

(4) Det venter ham en ulykke

Example with the pattern [ ExpletiveSubject Vmain IndirectObject DirectObject ]:

det venter ham en ulykke
“there awaits him an accident”
det
det
SBJEXPLET
PN
venter
venter
awaitPRES
Vtr
ham
ham
SGMASCOBJind
PN
en
en
INDEFSGMASCOBJ
DET
ulykke
ulykke
accident
N
Subject        Vmain           Indir.Obj.       DirectObject       
Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJind	- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate

(5) Regnet varer ved

Example with the pattern [ Subject Vmain AspectualAdvbl ]:

regnet varer ved
“the rain persists”
regnet
regnet
rainSBJDEFSGNEUT
N
varer
varer
lastPRES
Vitr
ved
ved
by
ADV


Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJ	ind- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate

(6) At han sover hender

Example with the pattern [ SententialSubject Vmain ]:

at han sover hender
“that he sleeps occurs”
at
at
DECL
COMP
han
han
SBJ3PSGNOM
PN
sover
sover
sleepPRES
Vitr
hender
hender
occurPRES
Vitr
         Subject          Vmain             
Subject                                    Vmain
Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJind	- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate

(7) Ola leer på seg

Example with the pattern [ Subject Vmain AspectualAdvbl ]:

Ola leer på seg
“Ola moves [a little]”
Ola
ola
OlaSBJ
Np
leer
leer
movePRES
Vitr
on
PREP
seg
seg
REFL
PN
Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJ	ind- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate

(8) Jeg fryser på ryggen

Example with the pattern [ Subject Vmain Oblique-for-bodypart ]:

jeg fryser på ryggen
“I feel cold on my back”
jeg
jeg
1sgSBJNOM
PN
fryser
fryser
freezePRES
Vitr
onOBL
PREP
ryggen
ryggen
backDEFSGMASC
N
Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJind	- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate

(9) De snakker om at det er for sent

Example with the pattern [ Subject Vmain Oblique-with-sentential-governee ]:

de snakker om at det er for sent
“they talk about it being too late”
de
de
SBJ3PPLNOM
PN
snakker
snakker
talkPRES
Vitr
om
om
aboutOBL
PREP
at
at
DECL
COMP
det
det
SBJEXPLET
PN
er
er
PRES
COP
for
for
too
ADV
sent
sent
late
ADJ
                                                       ExplSubject    Vmain    SecPred.
Subject         Vmain            Oblique

(10) Huset står tomt

Example with the pattern [ Subject Vmain SecondaryPredicate (SC) ]:

huset står tomt
“the house stands empty”
huset
huset
houseSBJNEUTDEFSG
CN
står
står
standPRES
Vitr
tomt
tomt
emptySCNEUT
ADJ
Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJind	- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate

(11) Gutten virker syk

Example with the pattern [ Subject Vmain SecondaryPredicate (SC) ]:

gutten virker syk
“the boy seems sick”
gutten
gutten
boySBJDEFSGMASC
N
virker
virker
seemPRES
Vitr
syk
syk
sickSC
ADJ
Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJind	- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate

(12) Han synes å komme

Example with the pattern [ Subject Vmain SecondaryPredicate (SC) ]:

han synes å komme
“he seems to come”
han
han
SBJ3PSGNOM
PN
synes
synes
seemPRES
Vitr
å
å
SCINF
COMP
komme
kome
comeINF
Vitr
Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJind	- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate

(13) Kjelen koker i stykker

Example with the pattern [ Subject Vmain SecondaryPredicate (SC) ]:

kjelen koker i stykker
“the kettle boils to pieces”
kjelen
kjelen
kettleSBJDEFSGMASC
N
koker
koker
boilPRES
Vitr
i
i
inSC
PREP
stykker
stykker
piecePL
N
Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJ	ind- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate

(14) det hender at han kommer

Example with the pattern [ ExpletiveSubject Vmain SententialComplement ('extraposed' ]:

det hender at han kommer
“it happens that he comes”
det
det
SBJEXPLET
PN
hender
hender
happenPRES
Vitr
at
at
DECL
COMP
han
han
SBJ3PSGNOM
PN
kommer
komer
comePRES
Vitr
                                          Subject          Vmain 
Subject       Vmain              SententialComplement 
Abbreviations in blue script:
SBJ	- subject
EXPL    - 'expletive', in the sense 'empty of meaning'
DECL    - declarative
OBJ	- object  ('direct object')
OBJind	- indirect object (used in combination with 'direct object')
COMP	- sentential complement (when not being classified as object)
OBL	- oblique, i.e., a PP where the governed NP has a role defined relative to the head
SC      - secondary predicate



Related pages

Sentence syntax - Norwegian

Subject-Verb Inversion in Norwegian

Sentence adverbials in Norwegian

Infinitives in Norwegian

Past and Perfective patterns in Norwegian

Personal pronouns in Norwegian

Reflexives - Norwegian

The Noun Phrase - Norwegian

Agreement in Norwegian noun phrases

Definite determiners in Norwegian

Possessive constructions in Norwegian

Gender in Norwegian nouns

Coordination marking in Norwegian

Reflexive verbs in Norwegian

Verb - Preposition expressions in Norwegian



--Lars Hellan (talk) 12:08, 29 December 2015 (CET)