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Breakdown of Han er spent på filmen i kveld.
være
to be
han
he
i
in
filmen
the film
kvelden
the evening
på
about
spent
excited
Questions & Answers about Han er spent på filmen i kveld.
What does the word bolded as spent mean here? Does it mean “tired”?
In Norwegian, spent means “excited,” “eager,” or “curious/tense about the outcome.” It can include a nuance of nervousness. It does not mean “tired.” For “tired,” use sliten or trøtt.
- Positive/neutral: forventningsfull, ivrig
- Slightly nervous: nervøs, urolig
What’s the difference between spent and spennende?
- spent describes a person’s feeling: “He is excited/tense.”
- spennende describes something that is exciting: “The film is exciting.” Examples:
- Jeg er spent. (I’m excited/curious.)
- Filmen er spennende. (The film is exciting.)
Is spent the most natural way to say “excited” about a future event?
Often Norwegians prefer the reflexive phrase gleder seg til for purely positive “looking forward to.”
- Han gleder seg til filmen i kveld. = He’s (happily) looking forward to the movie tonight.
- Han er spent på filmen i kveld. = He’s excited/curious (maybe a bit nervous) about the movie tonight.
Why is it spent på and not “spent for” or “spent til”?
The idiomatic preposition with spent is på:
- spent på + noun: Jeg er spent på filmen.
- spent på + å + infinitive: Jeg er spent på å se filmen. Other feelings take other prepositions:
- gleder seg til filmen
- skuffet over noe
- redd for noe
- interessert i noe
Can I say spent på å se filmen?
Yes. Both are fine, with a tiny nuance:
- Han er spent på filmen i kveld. (focus on the movie as the thing)
- Han er spent på å se filmen i kveld. (focus on the act of seeing it)
Why is it filmen (definite) and not en film (indefinite)?
Because it refers to a specific, known film (the one that’s on tonight). Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix:
- en film = a film (not specific)
- filmen = the film (specific/known) You could also say kveldens film (tonight’s film).
Does i kveld modify filmen or the whole sentence?
In Han er spent på filmen i kveld, i kveld most naturally attaches to filmen (“tonight’s film”). If you want to say “tonight he is excited (about the film),” put the time first:
- I kveld er han spent på filmen. (tonight modifies the whole clause)
How do I negate it? Where does ikke go?
Place ikke after the finite verb er:
- Han er ikke spent på filmen i kveld. If you front a time expression (V2 rule still applies):
- I kveld er han ikke spent på filmen.
Are other word orders possible?
Yes, common options:
- Neutral: Han er spent på filmen i kveld.
- Time-first (emphasis on time): I kveld er han spent på filmen. Avoid splitting på filmen or parking i kveld in odd spots; those can sound marked or awkward.
How does the adjective spent agree in number? Is spendt ever correct?
- Singular (he/she): spent — Han/Hun er spent.
- Plural: spente — De er spente. Common mistake: writing spendt. The correct forms are spent (singular) and spente (plural/definite).
Any quick pronunciation tips for the words?
- Han: “hahn”
- er: like “air” but short
- spent: like English “spent” (short e as in “set”)
- på: “po” with a long o-sound
- filmen: stress on the first syllable: “FIL-men”
- i kveld: “ee kvell” (the d in kveld is very soft or barely audible in many accents)
How do I correctly say “tonight” in Norwegian?
Use i kveld. Don’t say “i dag kveld.” Other time words:
- i ettermiddag = this afternoon
- i natt = tonight/at night (late night)
- i morgen kveld = tomorrow evening For habitual/general: om kvelden = in the evenings.
Can I use blir to say “will get/become excited”?
Yes, bli means “become”:
- Han blir ofte spent før filmen begynner.
- I kveld blir han nok spent når filmen starter. Saying Han blir spent på filmen i kveld is unusual; add a trigger: …når filmen begynner.
Is i kveld one word?
No. Standard Bokmål spells it as two words: i kveld. The one-word form ikveld is nonstandard.
How do I use the reflexive gleder seg til with different subjects?
- jeg: gleder meg til …
- du: gleder deg til …
- han/hun/hen: gleder seg til …
- vi: gleder oss til …
- dere: gleder dere til …
- de: gleder seg til … Examples:
- Han gleder seg til filmen i kveld.
- Vi gleder oss til å se filmen i kveld.
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