The Norwegian puzzle - find your missing pieces

Silje Linn Moss

Are you learning Norwegian? Do you find some aspects of the Norwegian language hard to grasp?Don't be puzzled! You have come to the right place!  In this podcast, you can pick the episodes covering the things you struggle with, whether it is pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary nuances, expressions, cultural aspects or you need some learning tips.  Bare hyggelig ;) 

  1. Jul 28

    #48 Sin, si, sitt and sine - correct grammar can save family drama! [grammatikk]

    “His car” sounds clear until it suddenly isn’t. When the subject is third person, English often forces us to guess who owns what, but Norwegian grammar refuses to let that ambiguity slide. We walk you through the real reason Norwegian has reflexive possessives and show how sin, si, sitt, and sine create instant clarity compared with hans, hennes, and deres. If you have ever felt like you understand the theory but still freeze mid-sentence, this is designed to make the rules feel usable. We start from the ground up: what “third person” really means, why ownership gets confusing, and the two rules that explain nearly everything. First, sin, si, sitt, sine have no fixed meaning out of context. Second, they must refer back to the subject in the same sentence or clause, not something mentioned earlier. From there, we make the forms practical: choosing sin/si/sitt/sine based on the gender and number of the thing being owned, not the person who owns it. Then we move into the situations that actually trip people up: when the possessive sits inside the subject, and when you have a clause inside a sentence. With multiple subjects, placement tells you exactly who the reflexive points to, and we show how Norwegian can even disambiguate a sentence about a daughter wearing “her” hat. We finish with a quick challenge that tests whether you can hear the difference between a reflexive and a non-reflexive possessive in a simple sentence. If this helps, subscribe for more Norwegian language learning, share it with a friend who struggles with Norwegian grammar, and leave a review so more learners can find the show. Got some feedback? Write me :) Support the show 🧩 Want to supercharge your Norwegian? Join The Norwegian Puzzle Premium for premium episodes, graded listening (from total beginner to advanced), transcripts, pedagogical resources, and more. 👉 Explore Premium: https://podcast.norsk-med-silje.com/ 🌐 More from Norsk med Silje: https://www.norsk-med-silje.com/

    #48 Sin, si, sitt and sine - correct grammar can save family drama! [grammatikk]
  2. Jul 21

    #47 Infinitive and present tense: the explanation you were waiting for! [grammatikk]

    That one little choice between infinitive and present tense van be tricky. We sit down and untangle the confusion from the ground up, because most learners were taught a shortcut that works… until it doesn’t. If you’ve ever stared at a verb and thought, “Do I add R or not?” this is the reset you need. We explain what infinitive really is: the dictionary form that sits outside time. Once you understand that, the sentence logic gets simpler. You hear why infinitives usually cannot follow a subject directly, how an infinitive phrase can act like a noun, and how that mental model helps you build correct Norwegian word order without guessing. We also talk about why English can hide the difference between forms, and why French and other Latin languages can push you toward the wrong pattern. Then we hit the big exception: modal verbs. We unpack why modal verbs are “special”, and why the infinitive marker is skipped after modals.  Finally, we tackle the listening trap: the final written R in present tense is not always pronounced, depending on what comes next, so spelling and pronunciation don’t always match. We end with a practical mini-exercise to translate and to write what should be written, not only what you think you heard. If this helps, subscribe so you don’t miss the next grammar fix, share it with a friend learning Norwegian, and leave a review with the verb form you struggle with most. Got some feedback? Write me :) Support the show 🧩 Want to supercharge your Norwegian? Join The Norwegian Puzzle Premium for premium episodes, graded listening (from total beginner to advanced), transcripts, pedagogical resources, and more. 👉 Explore Premium: https://podcast.norsk-med-silje.com/ 🌐 More from Norsk med Silje: https://www.norsk-med-silje.com/

    #47 Infinitive and present tense: the explanation you were waiting for! [grammatikk]
  3. Jul 14

    #46 Norwegian adjectives made simple: are you describing or defining? [grammatikk]

    Norwegian adjective endings can feel like a guessing game until you learn what they are really doing. We focus on one practical distinction that clears up a ton of confusion fast: are you using an adjective to describe something, or to define which thing you mean? We start by separating indefinite adjectives from definite adjectives. Along the way we use everyday examples like “a nice car”, “the house is nice”, and the common reaction “det er fint”, where “det” points back to an idea or an entire situation rather than a specific noun. Then we tackle the structure that surprises many learners: when a noun is definite and has an adjective, Norwegian typically needs a determiner in front (den, det, de) and the adjective takes -e. That’s how you get “den fine bilen”, and why it can look like “the the nice the car” if you translate word-for-word. At the end, we give you a quick exercise using “god, godt, gode” so you can test the rules immediately. Listen through, try the blanks, then share your answers and questions. If this helps, subscribe, share the episode with a friend learning Norwegian, and leave a review so more learners can find it. Got some feedback? Write me :) Support the show 🧩 Want to supercharge your Norwegian? Join The Norwegian Puzzle Premium for premium episodes, graded listening (from total beginner to advanced), transcripts, pedagogical resources, and more. 👉 Explore Premium: https://podcast.norsk-med-silje.com/ 🌐 More from Norsk med Silje: https://www.norsk-med-silje.com/

    #46 Norwegian adjectives made simple: are you describing or defining? [grammatikk]

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About

Are you learning Norwegian? Do you find some aspects of the Norwegian language hard to grasp?Don't be puzzled! You have come to the right place!  In this podcast, you can pick the episodes covering the things you struggle with, whether it is pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary nuances, expressions, cultural aspects or you need some learning tips.  Bare hyggelig ;)