Breakdown of De er i ferd med å spise middag nå.
spise
to eat
nå
now
de
they
middagen
the dinner
være i ferd med å
to be about to
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Questions & Answers about De er i ferd med å spise middag nå.
What does the expression i ferd med å actually mean—“about to” or “in the middle of”?
Both exist as nuances. Literally it’s “in the process of.” Depending on context and verb, it can mean:
- “in the middle of doing”: They’ve started and are doing it now.
- “about to (start)”: They are on the verge of beginning. With activities like eating, it often means they’re starting or already underway. If you want “definitely about to, but not yet started,” you can also say skal til å or er i ferd med å begynne å.
Would a native commonly say this, or is De spiser middag nå more natural?
If they’re actually eating right now, De spiser middag nå is the simplest and most common. De er i ferd med å spise middag (nå) adds a nuance of “just starting” or “in the process,” and sounds a bit more formal or descriptive.
How does i ferd med å compare to holder på å and er i gang med å?
- holder på å
- infinitive: very common in speech; “in the middle of doing.” In the past, holdt på å can also mean “almost” (I almost fell).
- er i gang med å: “has started and is underway,” with a focus on being engaged in an activity.
- er i ferd med å: slightly more formal; “in the process of” or “about to,” often used in writing or to add emphasis.
Why is it å spise and not å spiser?
Because å marks the infinitive. After i ferd med å, you must use the infinitive form: å spise. The present tense spiser is used without å (e.g., De spiser middag).
Why is there no article before middag?
Meal names are usually bare after verbs like spise: spise frokost/lunsj/middag/kveldsmat. You’d use an article only for a specific or countable event: spise en middag (“have a dinner,” e.g., a formal dinner), or spise middagen (“eat the dinner,” a specific one previously mentioned).
Can nå go somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes:
- End position: De er i ferd med å spise middag nå (very natural).
- Fronted for emphasis: Nå er de i ferd med å spise middag. Don’t put nå between å and spise.
Is De here “they” or formal “you”?
It’s “they.” Capital De can be a rare, formal “you” in writing, but in modern usage that’s uncommon. At sentence start, De is capitalized anyway, so this is simply “they.”
How do I negate this?
Place ikke after the finite verb er:
- De er ikke i ferd med å spise middag (nå).
How do I say this in the past or future?
- Past (were in the process): De var i ferd med å spise middag (da …).
- Planned/near future: De skal spise middag (nå/snart).
- “Was about to” (strong “about to” meaning): De skulle til å spise middag (they were just about to start).
Can I say De er i ferd å spise?
No. The fixed expression is i ferd med å + infinitive. You need both med and å.
Is middag “dinner” or “lunch” in Norway?
Middag is the main hot meal, nowadays usually early evening (so “dinner”). Lunsj is midday lunch. Some people also have kveldsmat (a lighter evening meal) after middag.
Any pronunciation tips for i ferd med å?
- i like “ee”
- ferd roughly “fehrd” (in much of Eastern Norwegian, rd merges to a retroflex sound)
- med like “meh(d)”
- å like the vowel in “law” So approximately: ee fehr(d) meh aw. Keep the å before spise short and unstressed.
Where does this construction place stress and rhythm?
Content words carry stress: De ER i FERD med å SPISE MIDdag nå. Function words (i, med, å, nå) are typically lighter, though nå can be stressed for emphasis.
Could I just say De begynner å spise middag nå?
Yes, that means “They are beginning to eat dinner now,” explicitly focusing on the start. Er i ferd med å can imply that beginning, but begynner states it directly.