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Vi har nesten ingen tid.

Vi har nesten ingen tid.
We have almost no time.
FromLesson 18inHardcore Norwegian
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Breakdown of Vi har nesten ingen tid.

ha
to have
vi
we
tiden
the time
nesten
almost
ingen
no
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Questions & Answers about Vi har nesten ingen tid.

What part of speech is nesten, and what does it mean in this sentence?
nesten is an adverb. It modifies ingen here and means almost. In Vi har nesten ingen tid, it tells us that the amount of time is just shy of zero.
Why is ingen used instead of ikke + noe or just ikke?

ingen is the negative indefinite pronoun that directly replaces “no” or “none” before a noun.

  • ingen tid = no time
    You could say Vi har ikke noe tid, but Vi har ingen tid is shorter and more idiomatic. Saying only ikke tid is ungrammatical unless you add noe (i.e. ikke noe tid).
What’s the difference between Vi har nesten ingen tid and Vi har nesten ikke tid?

Both are understood by Norwegians, but:

  • Vi har nesten ingen tid (“We have almost no time”) uses the pronoun ingen and feels more direct.
  • Vi har nesten ikke tid (“We almost don’t have time”) is colloquial and more common with jeg (e.g. Jeg har nesten ikke tid). It still sounds natural, but many learners find nesten ingen clearer.
Why is there no article before tid?
Here tid (time) is used as an uncountable (mass) noun referring to time in general. Mass nouns don’t take an indefinite article in Norwegian. If you wanted a specific instance of time you could say en tid, but that changes the meaning.
How do you pronounce nesten ingen tid?

Approximate phonetic transcription:
nesten [ˈnɛs.tən]
ingen [ˈɪŋ.ən]
tid [tiːd]
Together: [ˈnɛs.tən ˈɪŋ.ən tiːd].

Can you suggest other ways to express the same idea?

Sure. Here are a few alternatives:

  • Vi har knapt tid. (We hardly have time.)
  • Det er nesten ingen tid igjen. (There’s almost no time left.)
  • Tiden strekker knapt til. (Time barely suffices.)