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Questions & Answers about Noen trenger hjelp.
What does noen mean in this sentence?
Noen is an indefinite pronoun meaning someone or somebody. Here it tells us that an unspecified person needs help.
How is noen different from ingen?
Ingen is the opposite of noen and means no one or nobody. So
- Noen trenger hjelp. = Someone needs help.
- Ingen trenger hjelp. = No one needs help.
Why is there no article before hjelp?
Hjelp (help) is treated as an uncountable noun in Norwegian, like English “help.” You don’t say “en hjelp” for general assistance. So you simply say hjelp without an article.
Could you use en or den before hjelp to say “the help” or “a help”?
Not in this general sense. If you wanted “a certain help,” you’d have to make it countable by specifying type, e.g. en liten hjelp (a small favor). For “the help,” you’d say hjelpen (help-the).
Why is the verb trenger in this form?
Norwegian verbs don’t change for person or number in the present tense. Trenger is the present‐tense form of å trenge (to need) and works for jeg, du, han, noen, vi, dere, etc.
What about the word order? Why isn’t it Trenger noen hjelp?
Norwegian follows a verb‐second (V2) rule in main clauses: the finite verb must come second. Here the subject noen is first, so trenger follows, then the object hjelp.
Can I use behøver instead of trenger?
Yes, behøver also means “need.” You could say Noen behøver hjelp. The nuance is slight: trenger is more everyday; behøver feels a bit more formal or “must.”
How do you pronounce trenger?
Roughly TRENG-er, with the e as in English “bed,” and a soft g almost like the ng in “finger.” In IPA it’s [ˈtrɛŋər].