Mirakelet skjedde i går.

Mirakelet means the miracle.

The base noun is mirakel, which means miracle. The ending -et is the definite singular ending for many neuter nouns in Norwegian.

So:

• et mirakel = a miracle
• mirakelet = the miracle

Unlike English, Norwegian often puts the onto the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

It is an et noun, which means it is neuter.

Its basic forms are:

• et mirakel = a miracle
• mirakelet = the miracle

This is something you usually just have to learn with the noun: et mirakel, not en mirakel.

Yes. That would mean A miracle happened yesterday.

The difference is:

• Mirakelet skjedde i går = The miracle happened yesterday
• Et mirakel skjedde i går = A miracle happened yesterday

So the sentence you were given is talking about a specific miracle, not just any miracle.

Skjedde means happened.

It is the past tense of the verb å skje, which means to happen.

Some useful forms are:

• å skje = to happen
• skjer = happens / is happening
• skjedde = happened
• skjedd = happened as a past participle

Example:

• Det skjer nå. = It is happening now.
• Det skjedde i går. = It happened yesterday.

No, it is not fully regular, so it is worth memorizing.

Its main forms are:

• å skje
• skjer
• skjedde
• skjedd

A learner might expect a more predictable pattern, but skje is one of those verbs whose forms need to be learned as a set.

Because Norwegian does not need one here.

In English, we sometimes use did in questions, negatives, or for emphasis, but in a normal past-tense statement like this, Norwegian simply uses the past form of the verb:

• skjedde = happened

So:

• Mirakelet skjedde i går = literally The miracle happened yesterday

There is no extra helper verb needed.

I går means yesterday.

It is a fixed expression, so it is best to learn it as a whole. Even though i often means in, you should not translate this phrase word for word.

Just remember:

• i går = yesterday
• i dag = today
• i morgen = tomorrow

These are very common time expressions in Norwegian.

Not in any useful grammatical sense for this sentence.

Yes, går can also be the present tense of å gå and mean walks / goes, but in i går it is part of a fixed expression meaning yesterday.

So in this sentence, do not read går as the verb goes. Treat i går as one unit meaning yesterday.

Yes, i går can come first.

The sentence you have uses the common order:

• Mirakelet = subject
• skjedde = verb
• i går = time expression

So:

• Mirakelet skjedde i går. = The miracle happened yesterday.

You can also say:

• I går skjedde mirakelet.

That is also correct, but now the sentence starts with the time expression, so the verb must come next. This is a very important Norwegian rule called V2 word order: in main clauses, the finite verb is usually in second position.

So:

• I går skjedde mirakelet. = correct
• I går mirakelet skjedde. = not correct in a normal main clause

A simple approximation is:

• Mirakelet ≈ mee-RAH-keh-let
• skjedde ≈ SHED-duh
• i går ≈ ee GOR

A few pronunciation notes:

• In skjedde, skj sounds like English sh
• The k in skj is not pronounced separately
• The final -e in skjedde is weak, like uh
• In går, the vowel is longer than an English short o

So a rough full pronunciation could be:

mee-RAH-keh-let SHED-duh ee GOR

That is only an approximation, but it is a useful starting point.

Yes.

Depending on context, å skje can be translated as:

• happen
• occur
• sometimes take place

So this sentence could also be understood as:

• The miracle occurred yesterday

But happened is the most direct and natural basic translation.