B2 – Upper intermediate
Work meetings, complex sentences and the language you need for citizenship and higher education.
Take the level test (48 questions)Grammar on this level
Reflexive verbs
Reflexive verbs have a pronoun that refers back to the subject: Jeg setter meg (I sit down).
Open →Passive: bli passive and s passive
In the passive the action matters more than who does it. Norwegian has two passive forms.
Open →Relative clauses with som
Som means “who”, “which” and “that”, and it never changes form.
Open →Particle verbs: gi opp, finne ut
A particle verb is a verb + a small word (opp, ut, av, på …) that together get a new meaning – like English phrasal verbs. The stress falls on the particle.
Open →Participles: smilende, stengt, lukket
Norwegian has two participles: the present participle (-ende) and the past participle (stengt, lukket, skrevet). Both can work as adjectives.
Open →Formal writing
Emails, applications and complaints: how to open, connect and close a formal text in Norwegian.
Open →Emphasis and little words: det … som, jo, vel, nok
To highlight something in Norwegian, you can move it to the front or use det er/var … som. Little words like jo, vel and nok tell the listener what you think about what you're saying – spoken Norwegian is full of them.
Open →Fixed prepositions: glad i, redd for, på Lillehammer
Many verbs and adjectives come with a fixed preposition that you need to learn together with the word: glad i, redd for, venter på. Places are tricky too: you say i Oslo, but på Lillehammer.
Open →Nynorsk basics: how to read it
Norwegian has two written forms, Bokmål and Nynorsk. You don't have to write Nynorsk, but you'll meet it on NRK, on signs and in letters from councils in western Norway – and with a few keys it's easy to read.
Open →Words with audio
- en forutsetninga prerequisite, a condition
- å påvirketo influence, to affect
- en sammenhenga connection, a context
- å unngåto avoid
- en hensikta purpose, an intention
- tilsynelatendeapparently, seemingly
- å gjennomføreto carry out, to complete
- en utfordringa challenge
- bærekraftigsustainable
- å vurdereto consider, to assess
- derimoton the other hand, however
- en ulempea disadvantage, a drawback
- å gi oppto give up
- å finne utto find out
- å ta vare påto take care of
- å legge merke tilto notice
- å sette pris påto appreciate
- en søknadan application
- en stillinga position, a job
- likevelstill, nevertheless
- dessutenbesides, moreover
- imidlertidhowever
- erfaringexperience
- visstapparently, so I've heard
- nokprobably; enough
- avhengig avdependent on
- lei avtired of, fed up with
- forelsket iin love with
- en skriftforma written form, a written standard
- et sidemålthe second written standard (taught at school)
- en dialekta dialect
- offisiellofficial