Han nekter å overgi seg.

Because after nekter (refuses), Norwegian normally uses an infinitive with å.

So the pattern is:

nekte + å + infinitive

Examples:

• Han nekter å spise. = He refuses to eat.
• Hun nekter å dra. = She refuses to leave.
• Han nekter å overgi seg. = He refuses to surrender.

So overgi stays in the infinitive form, not the present tense overgir.

Nekter is the present tense of the verb å nekte, which means to refuse or sometimes to deny, depending on context.

Here:

• å nekte = to refuse
• nekter = refuses / is refusing

So:

• Han nekter = He refuses

Norwegian present tense is often simple and does not change for different persons:

• jeg nekter
• du nekter
• han/hun nekter

The form stays the same.

Seg is a reflexive pronoun. It refers back to the subject, here han.

In å overgi seg, the meaning is to surrender oneself → more naturally in English, just to surrender.

So:

• han = he
• seg = himself

But in Norwegian, this reflexive pronoun is required with this meaning. You normally say:

• overgi seg = surrender

Without seg, the verb usually means something more like hand over or give up/turn in something.

Yes, but then it usually means something different.

Compare:

• å overgi seg = to surrender
• å overgi noe = to hand something over / deliver something

Examples:

• Han overga seg. = He surrendered.
• Han overga våpenet til politiet. = He handed the weapon over to the police.

So in your sentence, seg is important because it tells you this is the reflexive meaning surrender.

This is standard Norwegian main-clause word order:

Subject + finite verb + infinitive phrase

So:

• Han = subject
• nekter = finite verb
• å overgi seg = infinitive phrase

Full structure:

• Han | nekter | å overgi seg

This is very similar to English:

• He | refuses | to surrender

Yes, very much so.

Even though you can analyze it as:

• overgi
  • seg

in practice, learners should treat å overgi seg as a common verb expression meaning to surrender.

That is often the easiest way to remember it.

Many Norwegian verbs work like this:

• å sette seg = to sit down
• å føle seg = to feel
• å skynde seg = to hurry

So å overgi seg is best learned as a reflexive verb expression.

They are close, but not exactly the same.

• Han nekter å overgi seg = He refuses to surrender.
  • This emphasizes a deliberate decision or resistance.
• Han overgir seg ikke = He is not surrendering / He does not surrender.
  • This is more neutral and simply states that he is not doing it.

So nekter å is stronger. It suggests active refusal.

No. In Norwegian, verbs do not usually change according to person the way English sometimes does.

English:

• I refuse
• he refuses

Norwegian:

• jeg nekter
• han nekter

Same form.

This is one reason many learners find Norwegian verb conjugation easier than English.

It is in the present tense.

• Han nekter = He refuses / He is refusing

Depending on context, Norwegian present tense can often translate into English as either:

• simple present: He refuses
• present progressive: He is refusing

The exact English translation depends on context, but grammatically the Norwegian verb form is present tense.

The past tense of å nekte is nektet.

So:

• Han nektet å overgi seg. = He refused to surrender.

And if you want the past of overgi seg by itself:

• Han overga seg. = He surrendered.

So the full sentence in the past is:

• Han nektet å overgi seg.

Often, but not always in a one-to-one way.

In this sentence, å marks the infinitive, so it corresponds closely to English to:

• å overgi seg = to surrender

But it is best to think of å as the Norwegian infinitive marker, not as a word that must always be translated separately.

For example:

• Jeg liker å lese. = I like to read.
• Han prøver å sove. = He tries to sleep.

So here, yes, å is doing the same job as English to.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Han NEK-ter å OH-ver-yee sai

A few notes:

• g in overgi before i sounds like y in many pronunciations, so overgi is roughly over-yee
• seg is often pronounced close to sai in many standard spoken varieties
• nekter has the stress on the first syllable: NEK-ter

A more native-like pronunciation will vary by dialect, but that rough version will help you recognize and say it.