Breakdown of Sjekklisten sier at vi må feie gulvet og bytte lyspærer.
vi
we
og
and
måtte
must
at
that
si
to say
gulvet
the floor
bytte
to change
lyspæren
the light bulb
feie
to sweep
sjekklisten
the checklist
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Questions & Answers about Sjekklisten sier at vi må feie gulvet og bytte lyspærer.
What does må mean, and what form of the verb follows it?
må is a modal meaning must/have to. It is followed by the bare infinitive (no å): må feie, må bytte. It expresses strong obligation.
Why is it og and not å before bytte?
og means and and links two verb phrases (feie gulvet and bytte lyspærer). å is the infinitive marker (to) and is not used after modals like må.
Does må apply to both verbs, or do I need to repeat it?
It applies to both: vi må [feie gulvet] og [bytte lyspærer]. Repeating må is possible for emphasis but not necessary.
What does at do here, and where would negation go?
at introduces a subordinate that-clause functioning as the object of sier. In such clauses, negation comes before the finite verb: Sjekklisten sier at vi ikke må feie gulvet. No comma is needed before at in this short object clause.
Is Sjekklisten sier ... idiomatic?
Yes. It’s also very natural to say I sjekklisten står det at ... (in the checklist it says that), which sounds document-like and a bit more formal.
Why are Sjekklisten and gulvet in the definite form?
Norwegian marks definiteness with suffixes. We refer to a specific checklist and a specific floor, so sjekklisten (the checklist) and gulvet (the floor). You could introduce them indefinitely as en sjekkliste and et gulv if they weren’t already known.
Could it be sjekklista instead of sjekklisten?
Yes. In Bokmål, many nouns can be treated as feminine. Both sjekklista (feminine) and sjekklisten (masculine) are correct.
Why is it lyspærer and not lyspærene?
Indefinite plural (lyspærer) refers to some light bulbs, not a known complete set. Use definite plural (lyspærene) for the light bulbs we both know about: ... og bytte lyspærene. You can add quantifiers:
- noen lyspærer = some light bulbs
- alle lyspærene = all the light bulbs
Is bytte the best verb here? What about skifte or bytte ut?
All work:
- bytte lyspærer = replace light bulbs (neutral, very common)
- skifte lyspærer = replace light bulbs (slightly more technical)
- bytte ut lyspærer = swap out bulbs (emphasizes replacing old ones)
Does feie mean vacuum?
No. feie means sweep with a broom. støvsuge means vacuum. So feie gulvet is sweep the floor.
Could I say feie gulv instead of feie gulvet?
Yes, but it changes meaning:
- feie gulvet = sweep the specific floor
- feie gulv = sweep floors (generic/unspecified) For several specific floors: feie gulvene.
How would I turn this into a yes/no question?
Use V2 word order in the main clause:
- Sier sjekklisten at vi må feie gulvet og bytte lyspærer? You can also ask directly about the obligation:
- Må vi feie gulvet og bytte lyspærer?
How would this look in the past?
Sjekklisten sa at vi måtte feie gulvet og bytte lyspærer. Past in the main clause typically triggers måtte in the subordinate clause.
Any tricky pronunciation here?
- sj in sjekk- is like English sh.
- å in må is a long o sound.
- æ in lyspærer is the vowel in English cat.
- Main stress is on the first part of compounds: SJEKK-listen, LYS-pærer, GULV-et.
Why are lyspærer and sjekkliste written as one word each?
Norwegian compounds are written as single words. lyspære combines lys (light) + pære (bulb), and sjekkliste combines sjekk (check) + liste (list).
What genders do these nouns have?
- sjekkliste: common gender (also usable as feminine in Bokmål)
- gulv: neuter
- lyspære: common gender (also usable as feminine in Bokmål)