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Questions & Answers about Vi bryr oss om miljøet.
Why is oss used here — is bry reflexive?
Yes. The idiom is å bry seg (om) = to care (about). With vi, the matching reflexive pronoun is oss. Other persons: jeg bryr meg, du bryr deg, han/hun/den/det bryr seg, vi bryr oss, dere bryr dere, de bryr seg.
Can I drop oss and say Vi bryr om miljøet?
No. For the meaning care about, the reflexive pronoun is required: bry seg om. Without oss, it sounds wrong or changes meaning.
What does om do here? Can I use for instead?
om is the preposition that goes with bry seg. You cannot use for with this verb. Compare: bry seg om = care about, but bekymre seg for = worry about.
Where does ikke go?
Vi bryr oss ikke om miljøet is the normal order: subject + verb + reflexive + ikke + prepositional phrase. With inversion you still keep ikke after the verb, e.g., Akkurat nå bryr vi oss ikke om det.
What is the infinitive and the past forms of bry?
- Infinitive: å bry seg (om)
- Present: bryr
- Preterite (past): brydde
- Past participle: har brydd (seg om)
- Imperative: Bry deg (om det)!
What gender is miljø, and how is miljøet formed?
miljø is neuter. Forms: et miljø (a/an), miljøet (the), miljøer (environments), miljøene (the environments).
Could I use miljø without the article here?
Usually no. When referring to the environment as a general concept, Norwegian uses the definite form miljøet. Bare miljø tends to mean an environment or a milieu (e.g., kunstmiljø).
How do you pronounce bryr and miljøet?
- bryr: one syllable; y is a long front rounded vowel (like French u in lune). The r is pronounced (alveolar or uvular depending on dialect).
- miljøet: roughly mil-YØ-eh. j = English y, ø like French eu in peu, final -et is a light -eh.
Can the object come first, like Miljøet bryr vi oss om?
Yes. That’s topicalization with verb-second order: Miljøet bryr vi oss om. In a relative clause, you can say miljøet (som) vi bryr oss om.
What’s the difference between å bry seg om and just å bry seg?
With om + object: care about something specific. Without om, it’s intransitive and often used in negatives or emphasis: Jeg bryr meg ikke (I don’t care). Jeg bryr meg is possible but less common and emphatic (I do care).
Does bry ever take a non-reflexive object?
Yes, in the sense concern/bother: Det bryr meg ikke (It doesn’t concern me). Here meg is a direct object, not reflexive. But don’t say Vi bryr miljøet to mean we care about the environment.
Any common synonyms or near-equivalents?
- Vi er opptatt av miljøet = We are concerned with/interested in the environment.
- Vi verner om miljøet = We protect the environment.
- Vi tar miljøet på alvor = We take the environment seriously.
Is there any difference in Nynorsk or dialects?
Both Bokmål and Nynorsk accept Vi/Me bryr oss om miljøet. Some dialects use me for vi or a uvular r, but the structure remains the same.
Can I add selv for emphasis, like Vi bryr oss selv om …?
No. selv is an emphatic self and doesn’t belong inside this verb phrase. Use an adverb for emphasis: Vi bryr oss virkelig om miljøet (we really care about the environment).
Is there a related expression with med?
Yes: ikke bry deg med … = don’t bother with …. Example: Ikke bry deg med detaljer. That’s different from bry seg om (care about).