Present perfect: har + participle
Use the perfect for something that has happened when the exact time is not important, or that matters now.
We teach Bokmål, the written standard most people in Norway use.
What is this about?
Sometimes we talk about something that has happened without saying when. What matters is the result or the experience: «Har du vært i Tromsø?» (Have you been to Tromsø?) We're not asking for the date, only whether you've done it. For this we use the perfect.
The perfect is made with «har» (have) plus a special verb form, the past participle: «Jeg har spist» (I have eaten, I'm done), «Hun har bodd i Norge i fem år» (she has lived in Norway for five years, and still does), «Vi har ikke sett filmen» (we haven't seen the film). As soon as you name a specific past time, like «i går» (yesterday) or «i 2022», you switch to preteritum: «Jeg spiste klokka tolv» (I ate at twelve).
This works almost exactly like English «I have eaten» versus «I ate yesterday», so English speakers have a head start. The main difference is that Norwegian has no separate -ing form: «I have been waiting» is simply «Jeg har ventet». You'll hear the perfect in job interviews («Jeg har jobbet som kokk», I have worked as a cook), at NAV and in small talk: «Har du hørt om …?» (have you heard about …?).
Rules
- Form: har + past participle: Jeg har spist (I have eaten).
- Participles: jobbet, spist, prøvd, bodd. Strong verbs: gått, vært, hatt, sett, skrevet.
- Perfect: Jeg har bodd i Norge i tre år (I have lived in Norway for three years – and still do).
- With a specific past time use preteritum: Jeg flyttet hit i 2022. Not: Jeg har flyttet hit i 2022. This works just like English.
- Ikke goes after har: Jeg har ikke sett filmen.
Examples
- Har du vært i Bergen?Have you been to Bergen?
- Jeg har glemt nøklene mine.I have forgotten my keys.
- Vi har bodd her i fem år.We have lived here for five years.
- Har du betalt strømregningen?Have you paid the electricity bill?
- Jeg har aldri vært på Lofoten.I have never been to Lofoten.
- Hun har jobbet på Rema 1000 siden i fjor.She has worked at Rema 1000 since last year.
- Vi har ikke fått svar fra barnehagen ennå.We haven't heard back from the kindergarten yet.