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Past and Perfective patterns in 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


Past and Perfective patterns

Regular formation of Past tense follows the following patterns:

A. When infinitive ends in a non-stressed-e:
 1. -te as in ropte (infinitive rope 'shout')
 2. -et as in hoppet (infinitive hoppe 'jump')
 3. -de as in eide (infinitive eie 'own')
B. When infinitive ends in a stressed vowel:
 -dde as in skjedde (infinitive skje 'happen')

Many verbs can alternate between A1 and A2, and between A2 and A3.


Regular formation of Perfect Participle follows these patterns (always preceded by a form of ha 'have'):

A. When infinitive ends in a non-stressed-e:
 1. -t as in ropt (infinitive rope 'shout')
 2. -et as in hoppet (infinitive hoppe 'jump')
 3. -d as in eid (infinitive eie 'own')
B. When infinitive ends in a stressed vowel:
 -dd as in skjedd (infinitive skje 'happen')

Thus, the pattern of A2 is the same as for Past tense, in the other cases Perfect is obtained from Past by omitting the last -e.


Regular formation of Passive Participle follows exactly the same patterns as for Perfect Participle (in sentences always preceded by a form of bli' 'become').


For irregular, also called strong, forms, please consult a dictionary.

Note that in many cases when a verb is so-called 'strong', its perfect/passive participle form follows a regular pattern, while its past form is irregular.

For further remarks and illustration, see Preterite/Past tense in Norwegian.

Related pages

Sentence syntax - Norwegian

Subject-Verb Inversion in Norwegian

Sentence adverbials in Norwegian

Verb Complementation - Norwegian

Infinitives 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) 21:07, 27 December 2015 (CET)