Vi trenger flere bøker.

We need more books.

Breakdown of Vi trenger flere bøker.

• boken: the book
• vi: we
• trenge: to need
• flere: more

Questions & Answers about Vi trenger flere bøker.

What does trenger mean, and how is it used in this sentence?

Trenger is the present tense of å trenge, which means “to need.” Here it’s used as a transitive verb with a direct object:

• Vi (we) = subject
• trenger (need) = verb
• flere bøker (more books) = object
  Note: If you want to say “I need to read,” you’d use å
  • infinitive (e.g. jeg trenger å lese).

Why is flere used instead of mer?

Flere is a quantifier used with countable plural nouns (like bøker). It means “more (countable things).”

• Correct: flere bøker (“more books”)
  Mer is used with uncountable nouns (e.g. mer tid = “more time”).

How do you form the plural of bok, and why is it bøker?

Bok is an irregular noun. Its indefinite plural is formed with a vowel change o → ø plus the ending -er:

• en bok (one book) → flere bøker (more books)
  You’ll see many Norwegian nouns follow similar patterns, but some are regular (e.g. en bil → biler).

Why is there no article before bøker?

In Norwegian, indefinite plural nouns don’t take an article. You simply say flere bøker to mean “more books” in general. If you wanted to talk about specific books, you’d use the definite plural: bøkene (e.g. Vi trenger bøkene = “We need the books”).

How would you make the sentence negative?

You insert ikke (not) after the verb:

• Vi trenger ikke flere bøker.
  This means “We don’t need any more books.”

Can you omit vi in this sentence?

Standard written Norwegian usually keeps the subject pronoun, so you say Vi trenger… However, in very informal speech you might drop it if the context is clear, but it’s less common than in languages like Spanish.

What is the word order here?

It follows the basic Norwegian SVO pattern:

1. Subject: Vi
2. Verb: trenger
3. Object: flere bøker

Could you use another verb instead of trenger, like behøver?

Yes. Behøver also means “to need,” but it’s a bit more formal or bookish. You could say:

• Vi behøver flere bøker.
  In everyday speech, trenger is more common.