Breakdown of Du må spørre om lov før du bruker bilen.
du
you
bilen
the car
måtte
must
før
before
bruke
to use
spørre om lov
to ask for permission
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Questions & Answers about Du må spørre om lov før du bruker bilen.
Why is må used in this sentence, and what does it express?
Må is a modal verb meaning “must” or “have to.” It indicates necessity or obligation. Here it tells the listener that asking permission is required before using the car.
Why is there no å before spørre?
After a modal verb like må, the following verb appears in the bare infinitive (without å). So instead of må å spørre, Norwegian drops the å and uses må spørre.
What does spørre om lov literally mean?
Literally it’s “ask about permission”:
- spørre = “to ask”
- om = “about”
- lov = “permission”
Together it’s how you say “ask for permission” in everyday Norwegian.
Why is the preposition om used in spørre om lov?
In Norwegian, spørre takes om when you ask about something (spørre om noe) or ask for permission (spørre om lov). It’s the standard verb-preposition combination.
Why is the definite form bilen used instead of en bil?
Bilen (“the car”) is definite, meaning a specific car known to both speaker and listener. En bil would mean “a car” in general, not pointing to any particular vehicle.
Why is du repeated in the subordinate clause før du bruker bilen?
Norwegian subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like før still need an explicit subject. So du appears again before the verb bruker.
What role does før play here, and how does it affect word order?
Før means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause (før du bruker bilen). Within that clause the word order is subject–verb–object (du–bruker–bilen), the normal order for subordinate clauses.
Why is bruker in the present tense even though it refers to a future action?
Norwegian often uses the present tense for general instructions or future events, just like English “You must ask … before you use the car.” It’s simple and direct.
Can you replace spørre om lov with be om tillatelse? Are they interchangeable?
Yes. Be om tillatelse (“request permission”) is more formal or bookish, while spørre om lov is everyday language. Both mean “ask for permission.”
Could you say Du må spørre om lov før du kan bruke bilen? Why or why not?
You could add kan (“can”) to emphasize ability: Du må spørre om lov før du kan bruke bilen = “You must ask permission before you can use the car.” Without kan, the original is shorter and equally clear in Norwegian.