Ikke klandre ham.

not

Breakdown of Ikke klandre ham.

• ham: him
• klandre: to blame

Questions & Answers about Ikke klandre ham.

What kind of sentence is Ikke klandre ham.?

It is a negative command or prohibition. In English, this is the kind of sentence that starts with Don’t ...

So the pattern here is basically:

Ikke + verb + object

Examples:

• Ikke gå! = Don’t go!
• Ikke rør den! = Don’t touch it!
• Ikke klandre ham. = Don’t blame him.

Why is there no word for you in the sentence?

Because Norwegian usually leaves out the subject in commands.

Just like English says Stop! instead of You stop!, Norwegian normally says:

• Kom! = Come!
• Vent! = Wait!
• Ikke klandre ham. = Don’t blame him.

The you is understood from context.

Why does ikke come first?

In short negative commands, Norwegian normally puts ikke before the verb.

So:

• Ikke snakk så høyt. = Don’t speak so loudly.
• Ikke glem det. = Don’t forget it.
• Ikke klandre ham.

This is the normal and natural word order for this kind of sentence.

Is klandre an infinitive or an imperative here?