Questions & Answers about Han venter på kontoret.
Why is there no auxiliary verb to express “He is waiting” as in English?
In Norwegian the simple present tense covers both the English simple present and the present continuous. So
- Han venter på kontoret.
can mean either “He waits at the office” or “He is waiting at the office,” depending on context.
If you really want to stress the ongoing nature, you can sometimes say: - Han holder på å vente (literally “he is in the process of waiting”)
- Han står og venter (literally “he stands and waits”)
but in everyday speech the plain present (venter) is standard.
What exactly does venter mean in this sentence?
venter is the present tense of å vente (“to wait”). Conjugation in the present tense is simply:
- Infinitive: å vente
- Present: venter
- Past: ventet
- Past participle: ventet
So Han venter literally means “He waits” or “He is waiting.”
What role does på play in på kontoret?