burde (ought to - full paradigm) | Norwegian Grammar

burde is the Norwegian modal of advice and mild obligation — the verb behind "should" and "ought to." Like every modal, it takes a bare infinitive (no å), and like several of them it has an irregular present that does not look like its infinitive: the present is bør, not burder. The pay-off for learning its paradigm is the hindsight construction burde ha + supine ("should have done"), which is how Norwegian expresses regret. The vowel swap between present bør and preterite burde even mirrors the English pair ought / should.

Conjugation

Class: modal (preterite-present verb). Takes a bare infinitive. Auxiliary: ha.

Tense / mood	Norwegian	English
Infinitiv	(å) burde	ought to (rare as a bare infinitive)
Presens	bør	should / ought to
Preteritum	burde	should (have) / ought to (have)
Perfektum	har burdet	(rare) should have
Pluskvamperfektum	hadde burdet	(rare) should have
Futurum	—	(modals don't form a future)
Imperativ	— (none)	—
Presens partisipp	— (none)	—

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Watch the spelling carefully: the infinitive and the preterite are identical — both burde (no ø) — while only the present has the ø: bør. So jeg bør gå (present, "I should go") but jeg burde gått (preterite, "I should have gone"). Putting the ø in the wrong form is the most common slip.

bør — present-tense advice

The present bør is your everyday "should": you use it to give advice, recommend, or state a mild obligation. It is softer than må ("must," a hard obligation) and weaker than skal ("shall / am to," a plan or command). Crucially, it is followed by a bare infinitive — no å.

Du bør hvile litt før eksamen.

You should rest a bit before the exam.

Vi bør bestille bord hvis vi vil spise der i kveld.

We should book a table if we want to eat there tonight.

Bør jeg gå nå, eller kan jeg vente litt?

Should I go now, or can I wait a little?

That last example shows the inversion that signals a yes/no question: the modal jumps to the front (Bør jeg...?), exactly as English fronts "Should I...?".

bør vs må vs skal

These three modals form a strength scale that English blurs together:

Modal	Present	Force	English
burde	bør	advice / recommendation	should, ought to
måtte	må	necessity / strong obligation	must, have to
skulle	skal	plan, intention, command	shall, am to, will

Du bør spise grønnsaker, men du må drikke vann.

You should eat vegetables, but you must drink water.

The contrast is real and worth feeling: bør leaves the choice open ("it'd be wise"), må removes it ("there's no option"). Telling someone du må when you only mean du bør sounds far bossier than you intend.

burde — the hindsight "should have"

Here is the high-value point. The preterite burde is how Norwegian says "should have" — the regret-and-hindsight modal. It almost always pairs with ha + supine: burde ha + supine.

Du burde ha sagt det med en gang.

You should have said so right away.

Jeg burde ha visst at det var en dårlig idé.

I should have known it was a bad idea.

Vi burde ha kjøpt billetter tidligere — nå er alt utsolgt.

We should have bought tickets earlier — now everything's sold out.

In casual speech, Norwegians often drop the ha: du burde sagt det is just as natural as du burde ha sagt det, and means the same thing. Both are correct; the version with ha is slightly more careful or formal. (formal: burde ha gjort; informal: burde gjort.)

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The present/preterite contrast maps neatly onto two different English phrases. bør + infinitive = "should do" (advice about now/the future). burde ha + supine = "should have done" (regret about the past). Pick the form by asking: am I advising, or am I lamenting?

The supine burdet

The supine burdet ("har burdet") exists but is genuinely rare — you will seldom need it, because the perfect meaning is normally carried by burde ha + supine of the main verb instead. Recognise it, but don't worry about producing it; even native speakers reach for it infrequently.

Det er mer enn jeg noen gang har burdet kreve.

That's more than I should ever have demanded.

This is an edge case. In nearly all real sentences, "should have done X" is burde ha gjort X, with the supine landing on the main verb, not on burde.

Common Mistakes

❌ Du burde hvile før eksamen.

Incorrect for present advice — use the present bør, not the preterite burde

✅ Du bør hvile før eksamen.

You should rest before the exam.

❌ Du bør å gå nå.

Incorrect — modals take a bare infinitive; no å after bør

✅ Du bør gå nå.

You should go now.

❌ Jeg burde har visst det.

Incorrect — it's burde HA (infinitive ha), not har

✅ Jeg burde ha visst det.

I should have known.

❌ Du må ta på deg jakke, det er litt kjølig.

Too strong — 'must' (må) for a gentle suggestion sounds like an order

✅ Du bør ta på deg jakke, det er litt kjølig.

You should put on a jacket, it's a bit chilly.

Key Takeaways

burde / bør / burde / har burdet — present bør (with ø), infinitive and preterite both burde (no ø).
Modal verb: always a bare infinitive, never å.
bør = present advice ("should do"); softer than må ("must"), weaker than skal.
burde ha + supine = the hindsight "should have done"; the ha may be dropped in speech.
The supine burdet exists but is rare — let the main verb carry the supine instead.

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