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Questions & Answers about Vi har ikke bestemt oss ennå.
Why is oss in the sentence? Why is it reflexive?
Because the verb is bestemme seg (to decide, literally “decide oneself”). In Norwegian you must use the matching reflexive pronoun with this verb:
- jeg bestemmer meg
- du bestemmer deg
- han/hun/den/det/man bestemmer seg
- vi bestemmer oss
- dere bestemmer dere
- de bestemmer seg Without the reflexive, bestemme normally takes a direct object: Komiteen bestemte budsjettet (The committee decided the budget).
Can I say Vi har ikke bestemt ennå?
No, not for this meaning. With bestemme seg, you need the reflexive pronoun. Correct is Vi har ikke bestemt oss ennå. If you remove oss, you must give the verb a direct object: Vi har ikke bestemt tidspunktet ennå (We haven’t decided the time yet).
Why is ikke after har?
Norwegian main clauses are V2 (the finite verb is in second position). Har is the finite verb, so ikke comes after it: Vi har ikke .... If you front something, the verb still stays second:
- I dag har vi ikke bestemt oss ennå. In yes/no questions the verb comes first:
- Har vi ikke bestemt oss ennå?
Why har bestemt and not a simple past like bestemte?
Because ennå (yet) refers to a situation continuing up to now. Norwegian uses the present perfect here: har bestemt. The preterite would place the action in a finished past time frame, e.g., Vi bestemte oss ikke i går (We didn’t decide yesterday).
Why har and not er with bestemt?
- har bestemt = active perfect (we have decided).
- er bestemt = passive/adjectival (is decided). With a personal subject like vi, use har bestemt oss. Use er bestemt with impersonal/passive subjects: Det er ikke bestemt ennå (It hasn’t been decided yet).
Do I need for after bestemme seg?
Use bestemme seg alone when speaking generally about deciding. Add for when you specify the choice:
- bestemme seg for + NOUN: Vi har ikke bestemt oss for menyen ennå.
- bestemme seg for å + INF: Vi har ikke bestemt oss for å reise ennå.
Where can ennå go in the sentence?
- Most neutral: Vi har ikke bestemt oss ennå.
- More formal/emphatic: Vi har ennå ikke bestemt oss.
- Rare/literary: Vi har ikke ennå bestemt oss. All are grammatical; the first is most common in speech.
What’s the difference between ennå, enda, fortsatt, and fremdeles?
- ennå = yet/still (time). Recommended in writing for the temporal meaning.
- enda is often used in speech for the same meaning and is accepted in Bokmål, but many style guides prefer ennå for time. enda also means even as an intensifier: enda bedre (even better).
- fortsatt / fremdeles = still (continuing state). For the negative not yet, prefer ikke ennå, not ikke fortsatt.
Is bestemt also an adjective? Does that matter here?
Yes. bestemt can be an adjective meaning definite/certain/firm: et bestemt svar (a definite answer), Han er veldig bestemt (He is very firm). In your sentence it’s the past participle of bestemme in the perfect: har bestemt.
How is the past participle of bestemme formed?
Many verbs ending in -e take -t in the past participle: bestemme → bestemt, tenke → tenkt, kjøpe → kjøpt. Others take -et: snakke → snakket. You learn which pattern each verb follows.
Where does the reflexive pronoun go with perfect tenses?
With bestemme seg in perfect tenses, the reflexive pronoun follows the past participle: har bestemt oss, hadde bestemt oss. It does not go before ikke, and Vi har oss ikke bestemt is not standard modern Norwegian.
How would I turn this into a yes/no question?
Invert the verb and subject, keep the rest:
- Har vi ikke bestemt oss ennå? If you’re asking someone else:
- Har dere ikke bestemt dere ennå? Typical short answers:
- Ja, det har vi. / Nei, det har vi ikke.
Can I say the same thing in a passive or impersonal way?
Yes, when the decider isn’t specified:
- Det er ikke bestemt ennå. (It hasn’t been decided yet.)
- Det er ennå ikke bestemt. These are common in announcements and formal contexts.
Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?
- Vi: like English “vee”.
- har: like “hahr”.
- ikke: “IK-keh,” with a long K.
- bestemt: stress be-STEMT; pronounce the final t.
- oss: vowel like English “boss”.
- ennå: “EN-noh”; long n and final vowel like the “aw” in “law”.
Are there synonyms for this sentence?
Yes:
- Vi har ikke gjort oss opp en mening ennå. (We haven’t made up our minds yet.)
- Vi har ikke tatt en avgjørelse/beslutning ennå. (We haven’t made a decision yet.)
What would this look like in Nynorsk?
Vi har ikkje bestemt oss enno. You’ll also see me for vi in some dialects: Me har ikkje bestemt oss enno.