Indefinite pronouns: noen, ingen, alle, hver
Noen, ingen, alle and mye are words you use when you can't or don't want to say exactly who or what. You hear them all day – in the shop, at work and on the bus.
We teach Bokmål, the written standard most people in Norway use.
In short: these words talk about people and things without saying exactly who or what – noen (somebody), noe (something), ingen (nobody), alle (everybody).
What is this about?
Indefinite pronouns are words we use when we can't or don't want to say exactly who or what: somebody, something, nobody, everybody, everything. «Er det noen hjemme?» (Is anybody home?) We don't know who, only that there might be a person there.
Norwegian separates people from things. For people you say «noen» (somebody), «ingen» (nobody) and «alle» (everybody): «Noen ringte» (somebody called), «Ingen svarte» (nobody answered), «Alle kom på festen» (everybody came to the party). For things you say «noe» (something), «ingenting» (nothing) and «alt» (everything): «Vil du ha noe å drikke?» (would you like something to drink?), «Hun sa ingenting» (she said nothing), «Alt er klart» (everything is ready). In everyday speech Norwegians often say «ikke noe» and «ikke noen» instead of «ingenting» and «ingen»: «Jeg har ikke sett noen» (I haven't seen anybody).
English has both some and any: «Is anybody home?», «I want something». Norwegian uses just «noen» and «noe» for both, which makes life easier. One trap: with two verbs you can't say «Jeg har sett ingen», it has to be «Jeg har ikke sett noen». You'll hear these words all day: at the checkout («Var det noe mer?», anything else?), at work («Har noen sett nøklene mine?», has anyone seen my keys?) and on the bus.
Rules
- Mini-table: person – noen / ingen / alle; thing – noe / ingenting / alt.
- noen = somebody, anybody: Er det noen hjemme? (Is anybody home?)
- noe = something, anything: Vil du ha noe å drikke? (Would you like something to drink?)
- noen before plural nouns = some: Jeg har noen venner i Bergen. noe before things you don't count: Har vi noe melk igjen?
- ingen = nobody, no: Ingen svarte. Before a noun: Jeg har ingen bil – in speech often: Jeg har ikke bil.
- ingenting = nothing: Hun sa ingenting. Same meaning: Hun sa ikke noe.
- When the verb has two parts (har sett, skal kjøpe), use ikke + noe/noen: Jeg har ikke sett noen. Not: Jeg har sett ingen.
- alle = everybody, all of a group: Alle kom på festen. alt = everything: Alt er klart.
- hver goes with en/ei words, hvert with et words = every, each: hver dag, hvert år. hverandre = each other: Vi ringer hverandre hver kveld.
- begge = both: Begge barna går i barnehagen.
- mange is for things you can count, mye for things you can't: mange bøker (many books), mye snø (a lot of snow).
- få = few (countable), lite = little (uncountable): Det kom få folk. Vi har lite tid.
Typical mistake: one negative word per sentence is enough. Ingen så noe (Nobody saw anything) – not: Ingen så ingenting.
Examples
- Er det noen som har sett nøklene mine?Has anybody seen my keys?
- Kari ringte, men ingen tok telefonen.Kari called, but nobody picked up.
- Jeg har ikke spist noe siden frokost.I haven't eaten anything since breakfast.
- Alle på jobben skal på julebord i Trondheim.Everybody at work is going to the Christmas party in Trondheim.
- Vi ser hverandre hver fredag på treningssenteret.We see each other every Friday at the gym.
- Begge ungene til Lars går på Sagene skole.Both of Lars's kids go to Sagene School.
- Det var mye snø på Gol, men få folk i bakken.There was a lot of snow at Gol, but few people on the slopes.
- Takk for maten, alt var kjempegodt!Thanks for the meal, everything was delicious!