Questions & Answers about Det blir verre enn i går.
What does det refer to here? Is it a “dummy it” like in English?
Often yes. Det can be:
- a dummy subject for weather/situations: Det blir verre enn i går (re: weather, traffic, pain, etc.).
- a pronoun referring back to something mentioned: Hvordan går prosjektet? Det blir verre enn i går.
Why use blir (from bli) instead of er (from være)?
- bli expresses change or a resulting state: “become/get/turn.”
- Det blir verre = It is getting/will get worse.
- være describes a current state:
- Det er verre enn i går = It is (now) worse than it was yesterday. So blir focuses on development or prediction; er states a present comparison.
Does the present tense blir mean the future here?
It often does. Norwegian frequently uses present tense for the near/likely future:
- Det blir verre enn i går = It will be worse than yesterday. You can strengthen it with:
- Det kommer til å bli verre (likely outcome),
- Det skal bli verre (plan/strong prediction, e.g., in a forecast).