Han nekter å overgi seg.

he

Breakdown of Han nekter å overgi seg.

• å: to
• nekte: to refuse
• overgi seg: to surrender

Questions & Answers about Han nekter å overgi seg.

Why is it nekter å overgi seg and not nekter overgir 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.

What exactly is nekter?

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.

Why is there a seg at the end?