Han gjør det omvendt.

he

Breakdown of Han gjør det omvendt.

• det: it
• gjøre: to do
• omvendt: the other way around

Questions & Answers about Han gjør det omvendt.

What does each word in Han gjør det omvendt do grammatically?

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Han = he
• gjør = does (present tense of å gjøre, to do)
• det = it / that
• omvendt = the other way round / in reverse / oppositely

So the structure is very close to English:

• Han = subject
• gjør = verb
• det = object
• omvendt = adverb-like word describing how he does it

Norwegian often keeps this straightforward subject + verb + object + adverb order in a simple main clause.

Why is det there? Can’t Norwegian just say Han gjør omvendt?

Det is the object of gjør. The sentence means He does it the other way round, so Norwegian includes the it just like English often does.

• Han gjør det omvendt = He does it differently / the other way round

You can sometimes hear gjør omvendt in certain contexts, especially as an instruction like:

• Gjør omvendt! = Do the opposite! / Do it the other way round!

But in a normal full sentence about a specific thing, Han gjør det omvendt sounds more complete and natural.

What is the infinitive of gjør, and why does it change so much?