Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Alle bidrar med ideer før møtet. - Everyone contributes ideas before the meeting.

bold Alle is a pronoun meaning “everyone.” Standing alone like this, it normally refers to people. If you want “all (things),” you use bold alt. If you want to specify the group, you can say bold Alle vi (“all of us”), bold Vi alle (also common), or bold Dere alle (“all of you”). With a noun, bold alle means “all the …,” e.g., bold alle bøkene (“all the books”).

Why is the verb in the form bold bidrar and not bold bidra?

bold bidrar is the present tense. The infinitive is bold å bidra. Principal parts:

bold bidra (infinitive)
bold bidrar (present)
bold bidro (preterite/past)
bold har bidratt (present perfect)

Norwegian present tense adds bold -r (with some irregulars like bold er for “is”).

Why is the preposition bold med used after bold bidrar? Could I say bold bidrar ideer or bold bidrar til ideer?

With bold bidra, use:

bold bidra med + what you contribute: bold bidra med ideer, bidra med penger, bidra med tid.
bold bidra til + the outcome/result you contribute to: bold bidra til prosjektet, bidra til at prosjektet lykkes, bidra til å forbedre rutiner.

bold Bidrar ideer is ungrammatical; the verb needs bold med (for the thing you give) or bold til (for the thing you influence).

Could I just say bold Alle bidrar (and drop bold med ideer)?

Yes. bold Alle bidrar means “Everyone contributes,” but it’s vaguer because it doesn’t say what they contribute. bold Alle bidrar med ideer is more informative.

Why is it bold ideer and not bold ideene?

bold ideer is the indefinite plural (“ideas” in general). bold ideene is the definite plural (“the ideas,” a specific set). Here we’re talking generally, so indefinite fits:

Singular: bold en idé
Definite singular: bold idéen / ideen
Indefinite plural: bold idéer / ideer
Definite plural: bold idéene / ideene

I see bold idéer sometimes written as bold ideer. Which is correct?

Both are correct in Bokmål. You can write bold idé, bold idéen, bold idéer, bold idéene (with accent) or bold ide, bold ideen, bold ideer, bold ideene (without). The accented forms help show the vowel quality and stress, but both spellings are standard.

Can I move bold før møtet to the front? What happens to word order?

Yes, and you must obey the V2 (verb-second) rule. Examples:

Neutral: bold Alle bidrar med ideer før møtet.
Fronted time phrase: bold Før møtet bidrar alle med ideer. (Verb bold bidrar stays in second position.) You usually keep bold med ideer close to bold bidrar; bold Alle bidrar før møtet med ideer sounds less natural.

What does bold møtet mean, and why the ending bold -et?

bold Møte is a neuter noun: bold et møte (“a meeting”). The definite singular adds bold -t: bold møtet (“the meeting”). Plurals: bold møter (“meetings”), bold møtene (“the meetings”). bold Før møtet means “before the meeting (we both know which one).” If you mean any meeting in general, say bold før et møte.

Could I use bold innen instead of bold før for “by/before the meeting”?

bold før = earlier than (focus on time sequence): bold før møtet (“before the meeting”).
bold innen = no later than, by (deadline focus): bold innen fredag (“by Friday”), bold innen klokka fire (“by 4 o’clock”). With an event noun, plain bold innen møtet is odd; instead say bold innen møtet starter (“by the time the meeting starts”). For this sentence, bold før møtet is the natural choice.

Can bold før introduce a clause too?

Yes. It can take a time phrase or a clause:

bold Alle bidrar med ideer før møtet. (“before the meeting”)
bold Alle bidrar med ideer før vi møtes. (“before we meet”) No comma is needed in these examples.

How do I pronounce the tricky words?

Approximate guide (varies by dialect):

bold alle: “AH-leh”
bold bidrar: “BEE-drar” (rolled or tapped r)
bold idéer / ideer: “ee-DAY-er” (stress on the second syllable of bold idé-)
bold før: like “fur” but with rounded lips (close to French “feu”)
bold møtet: “MEU-teh” (ø like French “peu”), stress on the first syllable

Is bold bidra the same as bold delta?

No:

bold bidra = to contribute (you give something: ideas, money, effort).
bold delta = to participate/take part. Example: bold Alle deltar på møtet (“Everyone participates/attends the meeting”), but bold Alle bidrar med ideer (“Everyone contributes ideas”). You can both participate and contribute, but they’re different verbs.

How do I say “Not everyone contributes ideas before the meeting” correctly?

Use bold Ikke alle at the start:

bold Ikke alle bidrar med ideer før møtet. = “Not everyone contributes ideas before the meeting.” Be careful: bold Alle bidrar ikke med ideer før møtet tends to mean “Everyone does not contribute ideas before the meeting” (i.e., nobody does), which is usually not what you want.

Does bold Alle bidrar med ideer før møtet describe a habit, the present, or the future?

Present tense in Norwegian often covers all of these, depending on context:

Habit/routine: “Everyone (typically) contributes ideas before the meeting.”
Scheduled near future: “Everyone contributes ideas before the meeting (later today).” If you need to be explicit, use:
bold Alle pleier å bidra med ideer før møtet. (habit)
bold Alle skal bidra med ideer før møtet. or bold Alle kommer til å bidra med ideer før møtet. (future plan/prediction)

Are there natural synonyms for bold bidra med ideer here?

Yes:

bold komme med ideer (very common, a bit more colloquial): bold Alle kommer med ideer før møtet.
bold dele ideer (“share ideas”): bold Alle deler ideer før møtet.
bold gi innspill (“give input,” neutral/formal): bold Alle gir innspill før møtet. These are close in meaning; choose based on tone.