delta ("to participate, take part") is a slightly more formal verb that shows up constantly in real life: signing up for a course, joining a meeting, entering a competition, taking part in a debate. Its forms surprise learners because delta is not a regular weak verb — it is a compound built on the strong verb ta ("to take"), and it inherits ta's irregular past forms wholesale. Once you see that del + ta = "take part," the otherwise baffling deltok / deltatt become completely predictable.
Conjugation
Class: strong; compound of del- + ta (inherits the conjugation of ta: tok / tatt). Auxiliary: ha.
| Tense / mood | Norwegian | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitiv | å delta | to participate |
| Presens | deltar | participate(s) |
| Preteritum | deltok | participated |
| Perfektum | har deltatt | have/has participated |
| Pluskvamperfektum | hadde deltatt | had participated |
| Futurum | skal/vil delta | will participate |
| Imperativ | delta! | participate! |
| Presens partisipp | deltakende | participating |
A strong ta-compound
The base verb ta ("to take") is one of the most irregular strong verbs in Norwegian: ta / tar / tok / tatt. delta is del ("part") welded onto that verb, so it conjugates exactly like ta with the del- prefix riding along:
- Infinitiv: del + ta → delta
- Presens: del + tar → deltar
- Preteritum: del + tok → deltok
- Supinum: del + tatt → deltatt
The two forms learners stumble on are the preterite deltok (not deltode or deltet — there is no weak ending here) and the supine deltatt with double t. Because the prefix is fused, the verb never splits: you say jeg deltok i møtet, never «tok del i» with del floating to the back (though the fully separate idiom ta del i does exist as a slightly more literary variant — see below).
This is why English speakers find deltok so counter-intuitive. English "participate" is a fully regular Latin loan (participate/participated), so the instinct is to make delta regular too — deltet, deltede. But Norwegian built its word from native parts (del + ta) rather than borrowing a Latin one, and a strong verb inside a compound stays strong. The lesson generalises: whenever you see a familiar irregular verb hiding at the end of a longer word, conjugate the whole compound the way the base verb goes.
Over tusen løpere deltar i maratonet hvert år.
Over a thousand runners take part in the marathon every year.
Hun deltok aktivt i diskusjonen på møtet.
She took an active part in the discussion at the meeting.
Jeg har aldri deltatt i en konkurranse før.
I've never taken part in a competition before.
The governed preposition: delta i
delta governs the preposition i ("in"): delta i + [activity / event]. You take part in a meeting, in a project, in a debate, in the election. This matches English "participate in" closely, which is a rare gift — just don't let other prepositions (på, ved) creep in.
Vil du delta i prosjektet, eller bare følge med fra sidelinjen?
Do you want to take part in the project, or just follow along from the sidelines?
Færre unge deltar i lokalpolitikken enn før.
Fewer young people participate in local politics than before.
Alle elevene deltok i den årlige skidagen.
All the pupils took part in the annual ski day.
delta vs ta del — and the noun en deltaker
There is a more literary, fully separable cousin: ta del i ("to take part in"), where del is a separate noun. It means much the same as delta i but feels a shade more formal or written, and it can also carry the sense "to share in / sympathise with" someone's feelings (ta del i sorgen = "to share in the grief"). For ordinary "participate," delta i is the everyday choice.
The person noun is en deltaker ("a participant," literally "a part-taker"), and the abstract noun is deltakelse ("participation"). Both are extremely common in registration forms, reports, and event descriptions. Note the everyday alternative to the verb: in casual speech a Norwegian is at least as likely to say være med ("be along, join in") — Skal du være med? ("Are you coming / joining?") is far more colloquial than Skal du delta?, which can sound formal in a relaxed setting. Reserve delta for organised activities, competitions, courses, and the written register; reach for være med among friends.
Vi ønsker å ta del i feiringen av jubileet.
We'd like to take part in the anniversary celebration.
Hver deltaker får et startnummer og en T-skjorte.
Each participant gets a race number and a T-shirt.
Deltakelse er gratis, men du må melde deg på innen fredag.
Participation is free, but you have to sign up by Friday.
Common Mistakes
❌ Hun deltet i møtet i går.
Incorrect — delta is strong (built on ta); the preterite is deltok, not deltet
✅ Hun deltok i møtet i går.
She took part in the meeting yesterday.
❌ Jeg har deltok i mange konkurranser.
Incorrect — after har use the supine deltatt, not the preterite deltok
✅ Jeg har deltatt i mange konkurranser.
I've taken part in many competitions.
❌ Vil du delta på prosjektet?
Incorrect — delta governs i, not på: delta i prosjektet
✅ Vil du delta i prosjektet?
Do you want to take part in the project?
❌ Jeg tok del i møtet, og så delte jeg ut igjen.
Incorrect — the prefix is fused; you can't split delta into del … ta like a particle verb
✅ Jeg deltok i møtet.
I took part in the meeting.
Key Takeaways
- delta / deltar / deltok / har deltatt / delta! — strong, conjugated like ta (tok / tatt) with the prefix del-.
- Preterite deltok (no weak ending); supine deltatt (double t).
- Governed preposition: delta i — take part in something.
- The fused prefix never splits; the separable, more literary cousin is ta del i.
- Person noun en deltaker, abstract noun deltakelse.
Now practice Norwegian
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- Weak Verbs: The Four ClassesA2 — A map of the four regular Norwegian past-tense classes (-et/-a, -te, -de, -dde) — how to predict a verb's class from its stem and how the supine differs from the preterite.
- Verb Reference: How to Use These TablesA2 — How to read the Norwegian verb-reference pages — the five principal parts, weak vs strong classes, and the supine (the har-form).
- Prefixed Verbs: be-, for-, an-, unn-B2 — The inseparable, unstressed verb prefixes (mostly Low German) — be- (betale), for- (forstå), an- (anbefale), unn- (unngå), gjen-, mis-, sam- — that fuse to the front of a verb, never separate, and shift its meaning into a more abstract, formal register.
- The Strong Verb Ablaut ClassesB1 — The ablaut (vowel-change) classes of Norwegian strong verbs grouped by pattern — i–a–u, i–e–e, y/ju–ø–ø, a–o–å, e–a–e — each mapped onto its English cognate class so you can often guess the forms.