selge ("to sell") is the natural partner of kjøpe ("to buy"), and like its cousin velge it hides an irregular past behind a regular-looking present. The infinitive and present keep the vowel e — selge, selger — but in the past the vowel jumps to o and the verb takes a weak ending: solgte, solgt. The English cognate "sell / sold / sold" runs the very same e → o switch, which makes this one of the friendliest irregular verbs for an English speaker to lock in.
Conjugation
Class: irregular (stem-change e → o + weak -te/-t ending). Auxiliary: ha.
| Tense / mood | Norwegian | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitiv | å selge | to sell |
| Presens | selger | sell(s), am/is/are selling |
| Preteritum | solgte | sold |
| Perfektum | har solgt | have/has sold |
| Pluskvamperfektum | hadde solgt | had sold |
| Futurum | skal/vil selge | will sell |
| Imperativ | selg! | sell! |
| Presens partisipp | selgende | selling (adjective) |
| Passiv (s-form) | selges | be sold / is for sale |
The e → o stem change, mirrored in English
Lay the two verbs side by side and the pattern is obvious:
- Present: selge / selger — vowel e
- Past: solgte / solgt — vowel o
English does exactly this: sell → sold → sold. Norwegian splits the past into a distinct preterite (solgte) and supine (solgt), but the e → o move is the same instinct English speakers already have. So you don't need to memorise an arbitrary form — you need to remember that Norwegian, like English, keeps the dental ending (-te / -t) on top of the vowel change. That dental ending is exactly what English preserves in the -d of "sold."
As with velge, watch the one-letter gap between preterite and supine: solgte (preterite, stands alone) versus solgt (supine, needs har / hadde). The final -e is the whole difference.
Vi selger huset til våren — vi trenger noe mindre.
We're selling the house in the spring — we need something smaller.
Naboen solgte bilen sin på bare to dager.
The neighbour sold his car in just two days.
Har dere solgt alle billettene allerede?
Have you sold all the tickets already?
selges — the passive that means "is for sale"
The s-passive selges is everywhere in real Norwegian, because it's how listings, signs and ads phrase things. Leiligheten selges — "The apartment is for sale / being sold." Selges and the alternative blir solgt both work; the -s form is the compact, label-like one you'll see in classified ads (selges som ny, "sold as new"), while bli solgt tends to narrate a one-off event.
There's also a reflexive-flavoured intransitive use: a product that selger godt "sells well." Here selge has no object and describes how the thing performs on the market — exactly like English "the book is selling well."
Sykkelen selges billig — den står bare og samler støv.
The bike is for sale cheap — it's just sitting there collecting dust.
Den nye telefonen selger overraskende godt.
The new phone is selling surprisingly well.
selge ut and other partners
- selge ut — to sell out (clear stock), and figuratively to "sell out" / betray principles. Konserten er utsolgt uses the related adjective utsolgt, "sold out."
- selge unna — to sell off, offload (get rid of by selling). De solgte unna alt møblementet før flyttingen.
- selge seg inn — to sell oneself, pitch oneself (e.g. to an employer or client).
- selge skinnet før bjørnen er skutt — "to sell the skin before the bear is shot," the Norwegian version of "don't count your chickens before they hatch."
Butikken solgte ut hele vinterkolleksjonen på en helg.
The shop sold out its entire winter collection in one weekend.
Vi måtte selge unna mye da vi flyttet til en mindre leilighet.
We had to sell off a lot when we moved to a smaller apartment.
Ikke selg skinnet før bjørnen er skutt — kontrakten er ikke signert.
Don't count your chickens before they hatch — the contract isn't signed.
Common Mistakes
❌ De selgte leiligheten i fjor.
Incorrect — the past is solgte (with o), not the regular-looking selgte
✅ De solgte leiligheten i fjor.
They sold the apartment last year.
❌ Jeg har solgte bilen min.
Incorrect — solgte is the preterite; after har use the supine solgt
✅ Jeg har solgt bilen min.
I've sold my car.
❌ Han solte alt på loppemarkedet.
Incorrect — keep the silent g in writing: solgte, not solte
✅ Han solgte alt på loppemarkedet.
He sold everything at the flea market.
❌ Huset er soldt.
Incorrect — don't borrow the English -d; the supine is solgt
✅ Huset er solgt.
The house is sold.
Key Takeaways
- selge / selger / solgte / har solgt / selg! — irregular: vowel change e → o plus a weak -te/-t ending, exactly like English "sell / sold."
- Spelling trap: keep the silent g — solgte, solgt (never solte/solt or soldt).
- Preterite solgte stands alone; supine solgt needs har/hadde.
- selges = "is for sale"; selge godt = "sell well."
- Drill it against its opposite kjøpe (weak: kjøpte/kjøpt) and learn selge ut, selge unna.
Now practice Norwegian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- 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.
- Strong Verbs: Ablaut and the Vowel-Change ClassesA2 — Strong verbs build the past by changing the stem vowel instead of adding an ending (drikke → drakk → drukket) — the main ablaut series, grouped, with full tables and English cognate hooks.
- 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).
- kjøpe (to buy)A2 — Full conjugation of the weak Class 2 verb kjøpe — kjøpe / kjøper / kjøpte / har kjøpt — covering the kj-sound, kjøpe inn / kjøpe seg, kjøpe brukt, and kjøpe vs handle (shop).