Breakdown of Vi skal klatre i skogen i helgen.
vi
we
i
in
helgen
the weekend
skulle
shall
skogen
the forest
klatre
to climb
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Questions & Answers about Vi skal klatre i skogen i helgen.
What does Vi skal mean and how is it used to express a future action?
Vi means we. Skal is a modal verb equivalent to English will or going to, used for planned or certain future actions. In Norwegian you place skal before the bare infinitive (here klatre) to form the future.
Why is there no å before klatre after skal?
In Norwegian, modal verbs like skal, kan, må, vil etc. drop the infinitive marker å. So you say skal klatre, not skal å klatre.
Why is skogen in the definite form? Why not en skog?
Skogen (the forest) uses the -en ending to mark definiteness. I skogen means in the forest (a specific or familiar forest). If you meant in a forest (any forest), you would say i en skog.
Why is the preposition i used with skogen? Could you use another preposition?
The verb klatre normally takes i when you climb among trees or in a forest: klatre i skogen. If you meant climbing on a particular rock or mountain top, you might use på (e.g. klatre på klippen). Context and the verb’s collocations decide the preposition.
Why is it i helgen rather than på helgen or om helgen?
I helgen means this coming weekend. På helgen tends to talk about weekends in general (on weekends), and om helgen can also mean on weekends habitually. To emphasize the upcoming weekend you use i helgen (or alternatively til helgen).
Why isn't there an article before helgen, like den helgen?
Helgen is already in the definite form (helg + -en). You don’t need den. Adding den (i den helgen) is possible for emphasis or contrast but sounds unusual in everyday speech.
Can you start the sentence with I helgen? If so, what changes?
Yes. Norwegian follows V2 word order: if you front i helgen, you must invert the verb and subject:
I helgen skal vi klatre i skogen.
Could you give a word-for-word breakdown of Vi skal klatre i skogen i helgen?
Vi = we
skal = will / going to
klatre = climb
i = in
skogen = the forest
i helgen = this weekend