Jeg ringer deg i kveld.

I will call you tonight.

Breakdown of Jeg ringer deg i kveld.

• jeg: I
• ringe: to call
• deg: you
• i kveld: tonight

Questions & Answers about Jeg ringer deg i kveld.

What does ringer mean and how is it derived from å ringe?

Ringer is the present tense of the infinitive å ringe, which means “to call” (on the phone) or “to ring” (like a bell). In Norwegian, the present tense ending –er is used for all persons:

• jeg ringer
• du ringer
• han/hun ringer
• vi ringer
• dere ringer
• de ringer

Here, ringer simply indicates the action (calling) is happening or planned.

Why is the present tense used for a future plan?

In Norwegian (as in English “I’m calling you tonight”), the present tense often expresses a fixed or scheduled action in the near future. Context and time adverbials like i kveld make it clear you mean “this evening.” If you want to be more explicit about the future, you can add the auxiliary skal:

• Jeg ringer deg i kveld. → I’ll call you this evening.
• Jeg skal ringe deg i kveld. → I’m going to call you this evening.

What is the difference between Jeg ringer deg i kveld and Jeg skal ringe deg i kveld?

Both sentences convey “I will call you this evening,” but:

• Jeg ringer deg i kveld uses the simple present to state a scheduled action.
• Jeg skal ringe deg i kveld uses skal to emphasize intention or future plan.

In everyday conversation they’re often interchangeable.

Why is deg used instead of du?

Du is the subject pronoun “you” (the doer), while deg is the object pronoun “you” (the receiver). In Jeg ringer deg, jeg is the subject performing the action, and deg is the direct object receiving it.

What role does the preposition i play in i kveld?

The i in i kveld means “in” and forms a time expression equivalent to “this evening” or “tonight.” Norwegian often uses i with time words:

• i dag (today)
• i morgen (tomorrow)
• i natt (tonight)

It tells us when the action takes place.

What’s the difference between i kveld and på kvelden?

• i kveld = “this evening” (tonight), a specific reference to the coming evening.
• på kvelden = “in the evening,” more general or habitual (something you do in evenings regularly).

Example:
• I kveld skal jeg spise pizza. (Tonight I’m going to eat pizza.)
• På kvelden ser jeg alltid nyheter. (In the evenings I always watch the news.)

Can I start the sentence with i kveld, and what about word order?

Yes. Norwegian follows the V2 (verb-second) rule: if a time adverbial comes first, the finite verb must come next, followed by the subject:

• I kveld ringer jeg deg.

You cannot say I kveld jeg ringer deg because the verb must stay in second position.

Shouldn’t kveld take a definite article like kvelden in i kveld?

No. Time expressions with i drop the article and use the noun in its base form:

• i kveld = tonight
• i dag = today

By contrast, på kvelden (“in the evening,” general/habitual) uses the definite form kvelden because på requires the noun to be definite or accompanied by an article.