Breakdown of Jeg er for nervøs til å ringe sjefen.
jeg
I
være
to be
til
to
å
to
ringe
to call
sjefen
the boss
for nervøs
too nervous
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Questions & Answers about Jeg er for nervøs til å ringe sjefen.
Why does the sentence use for nervøs instead of veldig nervøs?
In Norwegian, for placed before an adjective expresses too (an excess). So for nervøs literally means too nervous to do something. veldig simply means very and doesn’t imply inability.
Why is there til å ringe instead of just å ringe?
Norwegian uses the pattern for + adjective + til å + infinitive to translate too…to. Here til combines with the infinitive marker å to introduce the verb ringe.
Could I use for å or drop til in for nervøs til å ringe sjefen?
No. The fixed structure is for + adjective + til å + verb. You can’t replace til with for, nor omit it entirely before the infinitive.
Why is sjefen spelled with -en? Where’s the article the?
In Norwegian the definite form of a noun is shown by adding a suffix. sjef means a boss (indefinite), and sjefen means the boss (definite). There’s no separate word like the.
Why isn’t there a preposition before sjefen (as in ringe til sjefen)?
The verb ringe can take a direct object, so you simply say ringe sjefen (“call the boss”). While ringe til sjefen exists, omitting til is more common in everyday speech.
Could I say Jeg føler meg for nervøs til å ringe sjefen instead?
Yes. Jeg føler meg + adjective emphasizes your feeling. Jeg er for nervøs… states your condition. Both are correct; føle seg makes it more about personal emotion.
What tense is er, and could I use a different tense?
er is the present tense of å være (“to be”), indicating your current state. To talk about the past, use var: Jeg var for nervøs til å ringe sjefen (“I was too nervous to call the boss”).
Why is nervøs an adjective? Could I use a noun like nervøsitet?
You need an adjective here because you’re describing a quality (being too nervous). nervøsitet is the noun “nervousness” or “nerves.” You could say Jeg har for mye nervøsitet til å ringe sjefen, but it sounds more formal and less idiomatic than using nervøs.