Vi sliter med problemet.

we

Breakdown of Vi sliter med problemet.

• med: with
• problemet: the problem
• slite: to struggle

Questions & Answers about Vi sliter med problemet.

What does sliter come from, and what tense is it?

Sliter is the present tense of the verb å slite.

In this sentence, sliter means struggle or be struggling.
So the verb pattern is:

• å slite = infinitive, to struggle
• sliter = present tense, struggle / am struggling / are struggling / is struggling

A useful point: Norwegian verbs do not change according to the subject the way English verbs sometimes do. So you get:

• jeg sliter
• du sliter
• vi sliter

The verb form stays the same.

Does Vi sliter mean we struggle or we are struggling?

It can mean both, depending on context.

Norwegian present tense often covers both:

• English we struggle
• English we are struggling

So Vi sliter med problemet can be understood as either a general statement or something happening right now. Context tells you which is intended.

Why is there no separate word for are?

Because Norwegian usually does not need a separate auxiliary for this kind of present-tense sentence.

In English, you often say:

• We struggle
• We are struggling

But in Norwegian, the single verb sliter can cover both ideas. That is very normal. You do not need a separate word corresponding to English are here.