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Questions & Answers about Altså, vi rekker ikke bussen.
What does Altså add here? Is it necessary?
Altså is a discourse marker roughly meaning “so,” “well,” or “I mean.” Here it signals conclusion, resignation, or emphasis: “Well, we’re not going to make the bus.” It’s optional; without it, Vi rekker ikke bussen is a perfectly fine, neutral sentence.
Why is there a comma after Altså?
Because Altså here behaves like a clause-external interjection/discourse marker. The comma separates it from the main clause. If you use altså as a regular adverb inside the clause (meaning “therefore/thus”), you would write: Altså rekker vi ikke bussen.
Does this obey the V2 (verb-second) rule?
Yes. The main clause is vi rekker ikke bussen, where the finite verb rekker is in second position after the subject vi. The initial Altså, sits outside the clause as a discourse marker, so it doesn’t count for V2. If you fronted altså as a clause adverb, you’d say: Altså rekker vi ikke bussen (verb-second after the fronted element).
Where should ikke go?
In a main clause, ikke normally comes right after the finite verb: Vi rekker ikke bussen.
- With a pronoun object, the pronoun usually comes before ikke: Vi rekker den ikke.
- In subordinate clauses, ikke comes before the verb: … at vi ikke rekker bussen.
Avoid sentence-final ikke here in standard Bokmål: Vi rekker bussen ikke sounds wrong or very dialectal.
Why is it bussen (definite) and not buss?
Because you’re referring to a specific bus (the one you planned to catch). Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix:
- Singular: buss (a bus), bussen (the bus)
- Plural: busser (buses), bussene (the buses)
If you really mean “not any bus,” you could say Vi rekker ikke noen buss, but that’s less common and used for emphasis.
What exactly does å rekke mean compared to å ta and å miste?
- å rekke (bussen) = to make/catch (the bus in time). Focus is on being in time.
- å ta (bussen) = to take the bus (as your means of transport).
- å miste (bussen) = to miss the bus (you didn’t make it in time).
So: Vi rekker ikke bussen ≈ “We won’t make the bus,” while Vi mister bussen = “We’ll miss the bus.”
How do you conjugate å rekke?
It’s irregular:
- Infinitive: å rekke
- Present: rekker (Vi rekker ikke bussen)
- Preterite: rakk (Vi rakk ikke bussen)
- Past participle: har rukket (Vi har ikke rukket bussen før)
It also appears in the construction rekke å + infinitive (“have time to”): Vi rekker ikke å ta bussen.
How do I say this with an explicit future?
Use komme til å: Vi kommer ikke til å rekke bussen. Norwegian often uses the present for near-future plans, so Vi rekker ikke bussen already commonly implies “we’re not going to make the bus.”
How do I turn this into a yes/no question?
Invert the verb and subject: Rekker vi ikke bussen?
With the discourse marker, you can still say: Altså, rekker vi ikke bussen? (often expressing surprise or frustration).
Can I use rekke with another verb to mean “have time to …”?
Yes: rekke å + infinitive. For example, Vi rekker ikke å ta bussen = “We don’t have time to take the bus.” That’s different from Vi rekker ikke bussen, which is specifically about not catching that bus in time.
How do you pronounce the tricky parts?
- Altså: commonly [ˈɑlsoː] or [ˈɑltsɔ]; the “t” may be weak or create a “ts” feel. In casual speech it can sound like asså.
- rekker: [ˈrɛkːər]; double k = long/strong k; tap or trill the final r depending on dialect.
- ikke: [ˈɪkːə]; again, long k.
- bussen: [ˈbʉsːən]; Norwegian “u” is a fronted, rounded vowel [ʉ], and double s is long.
Are there dialect or register differences I should know about?
Yes. Many dialects use ikkje instead of ikke. The subject vi can be me in some dialects. Altså is widely used; in very casual speech it’s often ass/asså as a filler. The standard Bokmål sentence Vi rekker ikke bussen will be understood everywhere.
Can I say Vi rekker ikke den bussen?
Yes, that adds extra emphasis that it’s that particular bus (as opposed to another one). Without den, Vi rekker ikke bussen already implies a specific bus from context, but den highlights the contrast (e.g., “not that bus, maybe a later one”).