Jeg ber servitøren om en dessertskje, ikke en gaffel.

I ask the waiter for a dessert spoon, not a fork.

Breakdown of Jeg ber servitøren om en dessertskje, ikke en gaffel.

• jeg: I
• en: a
• ikke: not
• be om: to ask for
• servitøren: the waiter
• dessertskjeen: the dessert spoon
• gaffelen: the fork

Questions & Answers about Jeg ber servitøren om en dessertskje, ikke en gaffel.

Why do we need om after ber?

In Norwegian, be (“to ask/request”) splits into two patterns:

1. be noen om noe = “ask someone for something”
2. be noen gjøre noe = “ask someone to do something”
   When you request an object (a dessert spoon), you must include om:
   “Jeg ber servitøren om en dessertskje.”
   Without om, the sentence would expect an infinitive verb after be.

What’s the difference between be noen om noe and spørre noen om noe?

• be noen om noe = “to request something” (e.g. cutlery, help)
• spørre noen om noe = “to ask someone a question” (e.g. what time it is)
So you be the waiter for a spoon, but you spør the waiter for information.

Why is servitøren in the definite form (with -en)?

Adding -en makes servitør (“waiter”) definite: servitøren = “the waiter.”
You use it when you mean a specific waiter both speaker and listener know about.

Is dessertskje one word? What gender is it and how do the articles work?

• dessertskje is a compound noun written as one word.
• It’s a common‐gender noun, so indefinite is en dessertskje and definite is dessertskjeen.

Why do we say en dessertskje but also ikke en gaffel? Could we omit en before gaffel?

In Norwegian you normally need an indefinite article (en, ei, et) before a singular noun:
• “en dessertskje”
• “en gaffel”
Omitting en (“ikke gaffel”) sounds ungrammatical in this context.

Why is ikke en gaffel placed at the end of the sentence?

Putting ikke en gaffel after the main clause makes it a contrastive correction:
“Jeg ber servitøren om en dessertskje, ikke en gaffel.”
If you moved ikke earlier (“Jeg ber ikke servitøren om en gaffel”), you would be negating the act of asking rather than contrasting items.

Can we use jeg bestiller instead of jeg ber here?

You “bestiller” (order) food and drinks from a menu. For service items (cutlery, napkins), you “be om” them.
So you’d say:
• “Jeg bestiller en kaffe.”
• “Jeg ber om en dessertskje.”

How do you pronounce the ø in servitøren, and which syllable is stressed?

• ø sounds like the vowel in English “bird” (without an ‘r’ sound): [œ]
• Stress falls on the second syllable: ser-VI-tø-ren ([sɛrˈviːˌtœːrən]).

What’s the stress pattern in dessertskje, and is the sj like English “sh”?

• Stress is on the second syllable: de-SERT-skje ([dɛˈsɛʈːʂ̊ɛ]).
• sj is pronounced [ʂ̊], very similar to English “sh” in “shoe.”