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Questions & Answers about Hvor mye tid har vi?
Why is it hvor mye and not hvor mange?
Use mye with uncountable/mass nouns, and mange with countable plural nouns.
- mye
- uncountable: Hvor mye tid har vi? (time as a mass/quantity)
- mange
- countable plural: Hvor mange timer/minutter har vi? (hours/minutes you can count)
Can I say Hvor lang tid har vi? Is there a difference?
Yes, it’s also natural. Both mean roughly the same in this context. Nuance:
- Hvor lang tid har vi? is very idiomatic when asking about the length of a period.
- Hvor mye tid har vi? frames time as a quantity of a resource you possess. In everyday speech, many Norwegians would prefer Hvor lang tid in similar questions, but your original sentence is perfectly fine.
Can I say Hvor lenge har vi?
On its own, it sounds incomplete. Use one of these:
- Hvor lenge har vi igjen? (How long do we have left?)
- Hvor lenge har vi rommet? (How long do we have the room?)
- Hvor lenge har vi på oss? (How long are we allowed/have to finish?) Without an object or igjen, Hvor lenge har vi? is uncommon.
What word order rule puts har before vi here?
Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb is in second position. In wh‑questions:
- [Wh‑phrase] + [verb] + [subject] + [rest] So Hvor mye tid (one constituent) + har (verb) + vi (subject). Examples: Når drar vi?, Hvilken buss tar du?
Do I need an article with tid?
No, not in this meaning. Tid is uncountable when it means time in general, so no article: mye tid, lite tid. With a different meaning (a period/era), you can use an article: en/ei tid, denne tiden/tida.
Is tid countable at all? What about its plural?
Yes, but with a different sense. The plural tider means “times/eras/occasions”:
- i gamle tider (in olden times)
- i disse tider (in these times) To count duration, use units like timer (hours), minutter (minutes): to timer, tre minutter.
How do I ask the yes/no version “Do we have time?”
Har vi tid? Possible answers: Ja, vi har tid / Nei, vi har ikke tid. Add purpose with til: Har vi tid til et møte?
How do I say “How much time do we have left?”
Use igjen:
- Hvor mye tid har vi igjen?
- Also common: Hvor lang tid har vi igjen?
How do I add a purpose or task to the question?
Two common options:
- til å + infinitive (for doing something): Hvor mye tid har vi til å gjøre dette?
- Idiomatic på oss (time allowed to finish): Hvor mye tid har vi på oss?
What’s the pronunciation? Any silent letters?
Approximate Standard East Norwegian:
- hvor: [vʊr] or [vuːr] (the h in hv is silent)
- mye: [ˈmʏːe] (roughly “MY-eh”)
- tid: [tiː] or [tiːd] (final d often weak/silent depending on dialect)
- har: [hɑːr] (h pronounced; r trilled or tapped)
- vi: [viː] Natural intonation typically stresses mye and vi.
Can I drop the pronoun vi?
No. Norwegian isn’t a pro‑drop language; you need the subject: har vi. Omitting vi would be ungrammatical in standard Norwegian.
Is har only possession? Why “have time”?
Like English, ha covers possession and availability:
- ha tid = have time available Related verbs/phrases:
- få tid (til) = get/find time (to)
- ta seg tid (til) = take the time (to)
- bruke tid (på) = spend time (on)
- får vi tid …? can imply “will we get the chance/have enough time?”
Is Hvor meget tid har vi? acceptable?
It’s very formal/old‑fashioned in Norwegian Bokmål and sounds Danish‑like. Prefer Hvor mye tid har vi?
How do I ask “How long will it take?” Is it the same pattern?
Use tar (takes), not har (have):
- Hvor lang tid tar det?
- Hvor lang tid tar det å gjøre dette? Saying Hvor mye tid tar det? is less idiomatic; Hvor lang tid is standard here.
How do I express “We don’t have much time” or “We have plenty of time”?
- Vi har ikke mye tid / Vi har lite tid (we don’t have much/little time)
- Vi har mye tid (we have a lot of time)
- Idioms: Vi har god tid (plenty of time), Vi har dårlig tid (we’re short on time)
What are the Nynorsk equivalents?
In Nynorsk you’d typically say: Kor mykje tid har vi? (also har me?).
Other words change too: mykje (Nynorsk) vs mye (Bokmål), kor vs hvor.