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Vi venner oss til kjæledyret etter noen uker.

Vi venner oss til kjæledyret etter noen uker.
We get used to the pet after a few weeks.
FromLesson 35inHardcore Norwegian
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Breakdown of Vi venner oss til kjæledyret etter noen uker.

vi
we
uken
the week
etter
after
kjæledyret
the pet
venne seg til
to get used to
noen
a few

Questions & Answers about Vi venner oss til kjæledyret etter noen uker.

Why do we need the reflexive pronoun oss in vi venner oss til? Can I say vi venner til?

Norwegian uses the reflexive verb pattern å venne seg til (noe) “to get used to (something).” The reflexive pronoun must agree with the subject:

  • jeg venner meg til
  • du venner deg til
  • han/hun/den/det venner seg til
  • vi venner oss til
  • dere venner dere til
  • de venner seg til

You can’t drop the reflexive pronoun here; vi venner til is ungrammatical in this meaning.

Is vi blir vant til kjæledyret also correct? Any nuance difference from vi venner oss til?

Yes. Å bli vant til and å venne seg til are near-synonyms.

  • venne seg til highlights the process of getting used to something.
  • bli vant til focuses a bit more on the resulting state of being used to it.

Both are natural in everyday Norwegian: Vi blir vant til kjæledyret (etter noen uker).

Why is the preposition til used? Can I use med?

With these expressions, the safe, standard choice is til:

  • venne seg til noe
  • være/bl i vant til noe

You may hear vant med in speech, but with venne seg you should use til. Don’t say venne seg med.

Why is it the definite form kjæledyret and not just kjæledyr?

Kjæledyret means “the pet,” implying a specific pet already known from context. Use the indefinite if you mean “a pet” in general: et kjæledyr.

Possessives come after the definite noun in standard Bokmål: kjæledyret vårt (“our pet”). Pattern:

  • et kjæledyr → kjæledyret (definite singular)
  • flere kjæledyr → kjæledyrene (definite plural)
Can I move the time phrase to the front, like: Etter noen uker venner vi oss til kjæledyret?

Yes, that’s very natural. Norwegian obeys the V2 rule: when you front an element (here, a time phrase), the finite verb must stay in second position:

  • Etter noen uker | venner | vi oss til kjæledyret.
Why present tense (venner) if the change happens over weeks? Would past be different?

Norwegian often uses the present for general or typical developments: Vi venner oss til … can describe a general truth or an ongoing process.

For a past, completed situation, use:

  • Vi vennet oss til kjæledyret etter noen uker.
  • Or more idiomatically: Vi ble vant til kjæledyret etter noen uker. Perfect: Vi har vennet oss til kjæledyret.
What’s the difference between etter noen uker, om noen uker, i noen uker, and på noen uker?
  • etter noen uker = after a few weeks (time point later than now/another reference point).
  • om noen uker = in a few weeks (from now).
  • i noen uker = for a few weeks (duration).
  • på noen uker = within a few weeks (time needed to achieve a change), or commonly in negatives: ikke på noen uker = “not for some weeks.”
    Also common: i løpet av noen uker = over the course of a few weeks.
Is vender oss til acceptable, or is it a mistake?
Use venner oss til. The verb å vende (seg) til normally means “to turn (oneself) to” (physically or metaphorically, e.g., address someone), not “to get used to.” People sometimes mix them up; stick with å venne seg til for “get used to.”
Does venner here mean “friends”?
No. Venner can be the plural noun “friends,” but in this sentence it’s the present tense of the verb å venne. You can tell by the structure: subject (vi) + verb (venner) + reflexive pronoun (oss).
Where does the reflexive pronoun go if there’s an adverb?

The reflexive pronoun stays right after the finite verb:

  • Natural: Vi venner oss raskt til kjæledyret.
  • Odd/wrong: Vi venner raskt oss til kjæledyret.
Can I replace the noun with a pronoun? For example, “get used to it.”

Yes: Vi venner oss til det.
With people/animals already known, you can also use gendered pronouns: til ham/henne/den/det depending on the referent.

Can I use the transitive pattern “accustom someone to something”?

Yes. Å venne (noen) til (noe) means “to accustom (someone) to (something)”:

  • Vi venner hunden til bånd. = We’re accustoming the dog to a leash.
    There’s also a passive: Hunden vennes til bånd, but the active or reflexive versions are more common in everyday speech.
How would this work with plural “pets”?

Use the definite plural and keep the rest the same:

  • Vi venner oss til kjæledyrene etter noen uker.
What’s the nuance of noen uker vs et par uker vs flere uker?
  • noen uker = a few/some weeks (unspecified, usually 2–4ish).
  • et par uker = a couple of weeks (roughly 2).
  • flere uker = several weeks (more than a few).
Is tilvenne (seg) an option, e.g., Vi tilvenner oss kjæledyret?
It exists, but it sounds formal/technical. In everyday language prefer Vi venner oss til kjæledyret or Vi blir vant til kjæledyret. The noun tilvenning (“acclimatization, habituation”) is common in formal contexts.
How do I pronounce tricky bits like kj and y in kjæledyret?
  • kj- is a soft, hissy sound made far forward in the mouth (like the German “ich” sound).
  • æ is like the vowel in English “cat,” often longer here.
  • y is a front, rounded vowel—like French “u” in “tu.” A rough, non-IPA guide: “vee VEN-ner oss til SHEH-leh-dew-reh(t) …” (exact sounds vary by dialect).
Do I have to write the Norwegian letter æ? Is kjaeledyret okay?
Standard Norwegian spelling uses æ, ø, å. Write kjæledyret. Workarounds like kjaeledyret appear in old systems or URLs but aren’t standard in normal writing.

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