Questions & Answers about Han har dårlig samvittighet.
Because ha dårlig samvittighet is the normal Norwegian expression for to feel guilty or to have a guilty conscience.
So Norwegian says:
- Han har dårlig samvittighet. = He feels guilty / He has a bad conscience.
Using er would not work here:
- Han er dårlig samvittighet is incorrect.
This is one of those cases where Norwegian and English structure the idea differently.
Samvittighet means conscience.
It refers to your inner sense of right and wrong. In this sentence, dårlig samvittighet means something like:
- a guilty conscience
- feeling bad about something you did or failed to do
So the sentence is not saying that his conscience is literally poor in quality. It means he feels morally uneasy or guilty.
Because ha dårlig samvittighet is a very common fixed expression in Norwegian.
Norwegian often leaves out the article in set phrases with abstract nouns, especially after verbs like ha. So:
- Han har dårlig samvittighet. = natural, idiomatic
If you added an article:
- Han har en dårlig samvittighet.
that can sound less idiomatic in the usual feels guilty sense. It is not impossible, but the article-free version is the normal one when talking about guilt in general.